Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...
#1 Uneven Numbers: Deloitte, a Big 4 accounting firm, paid newly hired accountants with H-1B visas 10% less than U.S. workers in similar roles, according to a report by researchers from George Mason University, Columbia University, the University of Hong Kong, and Arizona State University. (HR Dive)
#2 Power Up: Data from a graph illustrating the growth in transmission grid installation queues between 2000 and 2023 reveals a sharp rise in annual interconnection requests since 2013. Over the past decade, new requests per year have roughly quadrupled to approximately 3,500, while the capacity entering queues annually has surged more than sixfold to over 6,000 GW. By the end of 2023, active queues (~2,600 GW) were double the installed capacity of the U.S. power plant fleet (~1,280 GW). (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
#3 Sharp Rise: The value of U.S. household equity in real estate has doubled since the end of 2017, reaching about $35 trillion. With interest rates moving lower, consumers may begin to tap into the value from home appreciation. (Freedom Capital Markets)
#4 Middle Child Syndrome: According to the American Action Forum, the total cost of regulations has amounted to 6% of GDP over the past four years, disproportionately affecting mid-sized firms. The Regulatory Review (University of Pennsylvania) found that medium-sized firms incur 47% more costs than small firms and 18% more than large firms to comply with regulations. (PSC Macro)
#5 Strange Times: A rare occurrence is unfolding in U.S. equities. On Monday, October 16th, the S&P 500 recorded its 11th consecutive day with more decliners than advancers. Bloomberg data dating back to October 1996 shows this as the longest streak during that period. Historical data suggests the longest streak since the 1920s was 14 days in 1978. If the streak extends to 12 days today, it will become the second-longest in 100 years. Remarkably, the overall S&P 500 index remains only 0.27% below its all-time high, thanks to the Mag-7 stocks hitting a fresh all-time high last night. These stocks have gained nine of the last 12 days, pushing their year-to-date gains above +76%. This trend indicates a subtle but steady rotation into the Mag-7 from the broader market. (Deutsche Bank)
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