by BoatSurfer600
via CNBC:
McDonald’s
customers are pushing back against higher prices in some markets and adding fewer menu items to their orders, CEO Chris Kempczinski said Tuesday.Shares of McDonald’s fell slightly Tuesday, but the stock hit a new 52-week high. McDonald’s is up about 10% so far this year.
Kempczinski’s comments come as consumer companies report mixed reactions to higher prices during the first quarter. For example, Coca-Cola
saw a muted reaction to demand as it kept raising prices on its drinks. Rival PepsiCo
, on the other hand, said in February it won’t hike prices further but reported a 2% decline in its first-quarter volume, which excludes price or currency changes.For roughly a year, companies have been raising prices to mitigate inflation, particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent commodity prices soaring. But consumers’ spending habits are changing in response, too, even as inflation cools. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said Monday on the company’s conference call that inflation and higher mortgage rates are top of mind for many consumers, despite low unemployment and improvements in gas prices.
3M announces mass layoffs as manufacturing slows
The manufacturing behemoth behind some consumer brands, including Post-It Notes and Scotch Tape, said it would lay off 6,000 staff around the world. Those cuts are in addition to the 2,500 manufacturing roles 3M eliminated in January. 3M also announced several mass layoffs in 2019 and 2020, but total headcount has been up and down over the past several years.
The 10Y-3M yield curve spread is now the most inverted ever at around 170 bps. Historical data indicates that SPY has “years” of negative return once the curve steepens. No signs of the steepening yet; however, it is expected to happen in the next two quarters. Will this time be different?
Sagar Singh LinkedIn