2 min readCPI Surprised to the Upside… Again The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in September, double the expected increase, despite a decline in energy prices for the month. Services and shelter costs were the biggest contributors, but large increases were broad-based across categories. Core CPI accelerated unexpectedly to a 0.6% monthly gain, pushing the year-over-year comparison…
2 min readGiven their aggressive efforts to tame price pressures over the past few quarters, Chair Powell and the Federal Reserve were likely to have been very disappointed by the release of August’s Consumer Price Index. Despite a 2.25% increase in the overnight lending rate over just four meetings, the reading came in higher than expected with…
8 min readInflation and recession, two words on the top of every investor’s mind right now. In our recent post on Inflation Winners and Losers, we talked about how the near-term outlook for inflation is relatively entrenched. This matters because the Fed has thrown the weight of its credibility on reducing inflation, raising interest rates aggressively since…
2 min readThese are certainly challenging times for the Federal Reserve. The past few weeks brought new data confirming historically tight conditions in the labor market alongside soaring domestic price pressures. While the Fed’s recent aggressive rate hikes have yet to cool inflation, concerns are growing that the pace and scope of their activity will push the…
3 min readInvestors grew increasingly concerned about the risk of recession in late June. Stock markets were particularly volatile on Thursday with the S&P giving up 0.9% on the day and 21% over the first half of the year, marking the worst performance since the 1970s. The DJIA declined 0.8% and the Nasdaq retreated by 1.3% as…
1 min readThe venture debt ecosystem has expanded in recent years, both in terms of the amount of capital being deployed and in the number of active lenders in the tech sector space. As new lenders have entered the market with fresh perspectives, seasoned lenders have evolved and grown in scale. Watch a recording (4/28/2022) of Capital…
5 min readCapital Advisors Group has been advising companies seeking to obtain venture debt for more than 18 years. Among the most common questions we get from new clients are “How much do you think we can borrow?” or, “We would like to borrow X. Do you think that is possible?” Clearly, the amounts companies may be…
6 min readLIBOR entered its next phase on January 1st, 2022. The date marked when no new financial contracts could be priced off LIBOR, which underpinned more than $200 trillion in loans , contracts, and derivatives as of the end of 2020. LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate) will still be published as a reference rate for…
2 min readThe Fed held its first meeting of 2022 last week and erased any lingering doubts, of which there were few, that it will raise the overnight lending rate when it next convenes in mid-March. In the press release following the meeting, the FOMC stated that “the Committee expects it will soon be appropriate to raise…
6 min readStepping into office with leading and supporting roles open across the government’s top financial regulators, the Biden administration was given a unique opportunity to reshape the financial regulatory landscape. Nominating four members to the seven-member Federal Reserve Board and promoting another to a key position, the Biden Administration has already made an outsized impact on…