Moodys Downgrades US Debt | Intra Year Drawdowns Are Common | S&P 500 Profit Margins Strong | Consumer Confidence Contrarian Indicator

Derek Moore reflects on market reaction to the 2011 US debt downgrade and explains what S&P, Fitch, and Moody's have for ratings. Plus, are markets poised for more positive returns based on several indicators? The bear case against the markets would be a reduction in profit margins. Later, Derek reviews some data of future 12-month returns when consumer confidence is low as a contrarian indicator. Finally, looking at several current indicators and random musing in markets for clues about the future. All that and more this week.    S&P 500 Index net profit margins for Q1 2025 Consumer confidence and consumer sentiment are low but is that a good thing? Looking at how often intra year lows on average are -14% but often markets end higher 12-month inflation expectations are now 7.3% highest since 1981 Hard vs soft data Velocity of M2 Money Stock  What has been working asset class wise in 2025 YTD 15 biggest rallies since 1950 and subsequent forward total returns Atlanta Fed GDP Now Investment banks starting to reduce recession probabilities Attribution of earnings EPS growth DeGraaf and Zweig Breadth Thrusts occurring within 1 month of each other  Explaining the difference between Moodys, Fitch, and S&P bond ratings Moodys downgrades US Debt     Mentioned in this Episode   Derek Moore's book Broken Pie Chart https://amzn.to/3S8ADNT   Jay Pestrichelli's book Buy and Hedge https://amzn.to/3jQYgMt   Derek's book on public speaking Effortless Public Speaking https://amzn.to/3hL1Mag   Contact Derek derek.moore@zegainvestments.com