This "Markets Weekly" update for August 23rd covers a week packed with significant events, focusing on the AI bubble, the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, and the US government's evolving industrial policy.
The speaker begins by acknowledging the prevailing sentiment of an AI bubble, referencing his previous blog post. He emphasizes that bubbles can continue to inflate, but there's a growing awareness of overvaluation in the AI sector. He cites an interview with AI "Godfather" Sam Altman, who candidly admitted to the possibility of a bubble, alongside an MIT study indicating that a significant percentage of AI implementations (around 95%) aren't generating a return on investment for corporations. The number of AI unicorns (startups valued at over $1 billion) nearing 500 further supports the bubble argument. While comparing it to the dot-com bubble, the speaker points out that information dissemination takes time, affecting market participant behavior. News about the potential impact of a Chinese AI company, DeepSeek, on NVIDIA chip demand, serves as an example of delayed market reaction to information. The segment on Breaking Points discussing the AI bubble indicates increasing mainstream awareness.
The speaker then addresses the Jackson Hole Symposium. Heading into the event, his expectation was for minimal change in monetary policy guidance, given the upcoming data releases (non-farm payrolls, CPI) and internal disagreements within the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). However, Chair Powell surprised the market with what was perceived as a more dovish stance, seemingly indicating a likely rate cut in September. This triggered a significant market reaction, with the rates curve rallying (rates decreasing), a dollar sell-off, and corresponding rallies in gold, Bitcoin, and equity markets.
Analyzing Powell's decision, the speaker delves into the three dimensions of monetary policy in the US: employment, inflation, and the restrictiveness of the central bank. He believes Powell has started to align more with Governor Waller's perspective on labor and inflation. Acknowledging recent job revisions, Powell now recognizes increased risks in the labor market. While inflation has stalled on a year-over-year basis, upcoming tariffs could exacerbate concerns. Powell fears that this could lead to wage-price spirals or, worse, an unanchoring of inflation expectations. However, Powell believes that the labor market is not strong enough to support a wage-price spiral, and longer-term inflation expectations are still anchored. This implies that the impact of the tariffs may be only transitory. Powell appears to be willing to compromise, indicating a rate cut to balance the situation, although market pricing already reflected two rate cuts this year.
The speaker also discusses the Federal Reserve's review, every five years, of the framework that they use to conduct monetary policy. The changes they are proposing involve reverting back to a stricter adherence to the 2% inflation target (scrapping "flexible average inflation targeting") and reconsidering preemptive rate hikes when the unemployment rate falls too low. Claims that these changes were a sign that the Fed was abandoning it's inflation target were incorrect.
Finally, the discussion moves to US industrial policy. News broke that Director Pultie of the FHFA has discovered that Governor Lisa Cook lied on her mortgage application. Governor Cook claimed a secondary home to be her primary home in order to get a lower rate. President Trump wants Cook fired over this. The Trump administration has also decided to purchase a 10% stake in Intel. Recognizing that Intel has underperformed in recent years, the speaker believes the US government wants to support domestic key industries. Although this isn't a voting share, it is concerning that the US has government has taken a stake in a key domestic industry. He sees this investment as a move to protect the US supply chains in key sectors such as rare earths and semiconductors. The speaker expresses some skepticism about the long-term benefits of government ownership, as the government's priorities (job creation, domestic production, national security) might not align with maximizing profitability.