Economic excesses often create potential investment opportunities. When a key economic factor reaches a ridiculous level, it frequently proves profitable to expect a reversal: Recall the 10-year bond yield at 0.5% in mid-2020 (those who tilted investment bets toward rising-yield beneficiaries have since profited)—or the early-1981 extreme of 16%? Another example was 1995, when the U.S. dollar spiked to levels never seen before—nor since. In the 1990s, the labor participation rate peaked near 68% after having never risen above 60% prior to 1970. And, in the mid-1990s, following a decline of nearly 20% from its 1973 post-war high, the real-wage rate finally bottomed.
Mar
28
2022