Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 BUYBACK BOOM: According to Barron's, the volume of new stock repurchase authorization as of February 17 has reached a record level. At the current pace, U.S. public companies would return roughly $1 trillion of capital to shareholders in the form of buybacks this year.

#2 PERKS OF THE JOB: According to an article in TechCrunch, Amazon has struck a deal with embattled online mortgage lender Better.com to offer up a new benefit to employees. Better.com is launching a program called Equity Unlocker™ which allows employees to use their vested equity as collateral for a down payment when trying to buy homes. Unique about the program, according to Better.com, is that employees will have the ability to finance their homes without actually selling their shares, only needing to pledge vested equity. Even former Amazon employees with vested equity can use the service. Current and ex-workers can also use the mortgage tool for secondary vacation homes or investment properties.

#3 A REAL RARITY: According to research by Alex Brown, the U.S. 2-year and 10-year yield curve closed below -100 basis points for the first time in 42 years. There have been only seven monthly closes below -100 basis points since the early 1940s. In all such occurrences, a U.S. recession has either been underway or has occurred within a maximum of 8 months.

#4 NEED A VACATION: Working Americans are taking shorter vacations and less time off compared to 40 years ago, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and data columnist Andrew Van Dam of The Washington Post. On any given week in 1980, 3.3% of the workforce was on vacation; today, that figure is just 1.7%. The difference during the summer months is even more dramatic. In July 2022, 3.89% of full-time workers were on vacation. In July 1980, this figure was 10.25%.

#5 THE COST TO INSURE: According to the Texas Department of Insurance, auto insurance rates in Texas soared an average of 23.8% in 2022, eight times higher than in 2021 and the highest annual increase in at least 20 years. In addition, homeowner insurance rates in Texas rose an average of 10.8% last year, the highest annual gain since 2012, according to an article in The Dallas Morning News. Insurers are pointing to higher costs associated with repair and replacement, increased accidents, the rate of car thefts, and increased medical claims.

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