(New York)

The professor who first identified yield curve inversions has written an article explaining what the development really means. First identified in 1986, a yield curve inversion is considered the most widely accurate indicator of recession. Since it was first identified and back tested, it has accurately predicted a further 3 out of 3 recessions. This is a point its “discoverer” Campbell Harvey hammers home in his article. He explains that an inversion is usually followed by a recession within 12-18 months. The yield curve has not been inverted since before the Crisis, but just did so on Friday.

FINSUM: One of the important points Harvey makes is that in order for the inversion to really indicate a recession, it needs to remain in place for at least three months. We are only at one day.

(New York)

Midcaps are perhaps the least loved of the market cap grouping. Small caps get a lot of attention, as do large and megacaps, but midcaps are a bit “neither here nor there”. That said, they offer some compelling opportunities, and today we will highlight some of those on the dividend front. Midcaps are generally good dividend payers, with 275 of the S&P MidCap 400 paying dividends. Five stocks to look at include: SABER (SABR), Manpower Group (MAN), Webster Financial (WBS), National Instruments (NATI), and j2Global (JCOM). All the shares pay 2% or more in dividend yield.

FINSUM: Megacaps seem to get the least love because they comprise some of the less exciting companies in the market and at first glance don’t seem to have the growth potential of small caps, or the momentum potential of large caps.

(New York)

There are many in the market who think that real estate, and perhaps particularly commercial real estate, is in for a real headache. The real estate market tends to slump in recessions and there are special fears that the commercial real estate markets looks inflated. However, Barron’s argues the opposite, saying the three fundamental pillars of the CRE market are solid—overbuilding, overheating, over-indebtedness. The article uses a number of points to show that the market is not as overbuilt as many say it is, that price rises have been modest, and that borrowers and lenders have been restrained.

FINSUM: We don’t think it is as simple as just saying CRE looks fine. There are a lot of different areas of CRE. For instance, we are a lot less worried about new warehouses/logistics centers than simple office space.

(Washington)

The Mueller report was finally released this weekend, and the early indications are that there is nothing in it that proves any wrongdoing on the part of President Trump. Attorney General Barr’s summary to Congress, given yesterday, said there was no collusion between Trump and Russia and nothing in the report amounted to enough for a criminal charge of obstruction of justice. Trump called the report a “complete exoneration”.

FINSUM: So this is far from a “put to bed” issue because Barr’s credibility is under attack. Democrats are pledging to press on. However, one of the things we are very happy about in these divisive times is that the Mueller team had the discipline to take a clear position on the case and did not seek to inflate charges that were not really there in an effort to validate their own work.

The Daily FINSUMMARY- sponsored by ETF Action

Sell-off. U.S. equity markets tumbled on global growth concerns and weak manufacturing data out of the U.S. and the Eurozone. For the first time since 2007, the 3-month treasury yield eclipsed the 10-year, officially inverting the yield curve which has historically been an indication of an ensuing recession. However, a great piece by Bianco Research points out that previous recessions were preceded by inversion for 10 straight days whereas this is just day one. Furthermore, recession isn't immediate following inversion. All major averages dropped with the S&P 500 (SPY -1.93%), the Dow (DIA -1.78%), and the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ -2.20%) falling nearly 2%.

Macroeconomic data was mostly negative on Friday. U.S. PMI came in weak and dropped to a six-month low, highlighted by manufacturing PMI hitting a 21 month low. To follow this up, indications of an unwanted inventory build is showing as wholesale inventories grew by a much larger margin M/M than expected. The inventories to sales ratio rose to 1.34 which last peaked in early 2016 at 1.38. However it wasn't all bad as February existing-home sales saw its largest M/M gain in over three years, surging 11.8% on lower mortgage rates, higher consumer confidence, more inventory, and rising incomes.

Earnings & Movers: Nike down (NKE -6.61%) after missing revenue estimates yesterday while Tiffany rose (TIF 3.15%) after beating on earnings but missing on sales due to declining Chinese tourism during Q4. For the week, nine S&P 500 companies reported earnings (1.32% of S&P 500 market-cap), eight of which beat earnings estimates, primarily came from the Consumer Discretionary sector (table below).

Large-caps (IVV -1.89%) outperformed small-caps (IJR -3.65%) in the risk-off atmosphere while defensive sectors offered some protection. Utilities (XLU 0.72%) led along with Consumer Staples (XLP -0.13%) while Financials (XLF -2.76%), Energy (XLE -2.71%), and Materials (XLB -2.98%) lagged. We have talked a lot about falling yields and banks this week, but it got got much worse on Friday for Banks (KBE -4.24%) as treasury yields plummeted. The industry finished down nearly 10% on the week.

Developed ex-U.S. (EFA -1.92%) beat out Emerging markets (EEM -2.93%) but it was a sea of red across the globe. German (EWG -2.76%) manufacturing PMI was just plain bad. New orders slumped as the index dropped further into contraction territory which marks the third consecutive month of contraction and the lowest level since 2012. On a positive note (kind of), the EU granted a Brexit extension to May 22 if PM Theresa May can get the U.K. parliament on board with her plan. If not, a hard-Brexit is set for April 12.

Treasury yields fell drastically with the 10-year settling at 2.45%. The Ag (AGG 0.50%) benefited from the drop in yields while long duration (TLT 1.55%) outperformed short (SHY 0.17%). Investment Grade (LQD 0.61%) easily bested High Yield (HYG -0.36%).

Lower crude oil prices (USO -1.69%) weighed on broad commodities (DJP -0.87%) and the Dollar advanced modestly (UUP 0.19%). Gold (GLD 0.23%) benefited from the fall in equities while copper (CPER -2.06%) fell.