The market experienced a somewhat wild few days — yet the week ended on a hopeful note, says Jason Colodne, co-founder of Colbeck Capital Management, an NYC-based private equity asset management organization focused on strategic lending.
Some of the recent investment and other highlights from the previous week are outlined below.
Economic Snapshot
Tuesday’s release of the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, measuring residential real estate prices in the United States, indicated home prices gained 18.3% year over year in November 2021, a slight decline from 19% in the previous month. Home prices grew 0.9% from October to November.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced on Wednesday it plans to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.25% or less. The FOMC also said it will continue to taper its monthly Treasury and mortgage securities purchases.
An advanced gross domestic product–related estimate released this week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) — ahead of the estimate due on Feb. 24, which the agency says will be based on more complete data — showed GDP increased at an annual rate of 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Real GDP grew 2.3%.
The BEA attributed the real GDP rise to increases in private inventory investment, exports, personal consumption expenditures and nonresidential fixed investment, which were partly offset by federal, state and local government spending decreases.
On Friday, the BEA also published the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, which reflects changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by consumers in the U.S., offering a look at inflation across a wide range of expenses.
The index showed a 0.4% increase in December. Year over year, the index was up 5.8%. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index rose 4.9%, compared to December 2021.
Recent Market Activity
The week before last [EB1] was the worst point for U.S. equities since March 2020, according to S&P Global, as the impact of Federal Reserve monetary policy moves, and earning reports being released from companies such as Netflix, which plummeted 22%[EB2] following its fourth-quarter earnings release, were felt.
However, following some turbulent activity in recent days, the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average all showed gains by the end of the week.
Despite a small 0.3% rise on Monday, the S&P 500 experienced a notable 1.2% drop on Tuesday. The S&P also tumbled toward the end of Wednesday, sinking to 4,310.24 at one point and only escalating to 4,349.93 by closing. On Friday, however, the S&P gained 2.4%.
At the start of the week, the Nasdaq Composite initially fell — but then rose 0.6%, reaching 13,855.13 by closing time. After spending most of the week on a decline, including a more than 2% drop from Monday to Tuesday, the Nasdaq experienced a 3.1% increase on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rallied on Monday. After declining roughly 1,000 points, the Dow ended up closing about 100 points — or 0.3% higher — on the first day of the week. While it consistently sank lower during the next few days, much like the other indexes, the Dow showed an increase on Friday, rising 1.7% for the day.
About Jason Colodne
Jason Colodne is the senior transaction partner at Colbeck Capital Management and oversees all aspects of investment execution and portfolio management. Colodne co-founded Colbeck Capital Management as a managing partner in 2009. Colodne’s investment experience spans over two decades.
About Colbeck Capital Management
Colbeck Capital Management (colbeck.com) is a leading, middle-market private credit manager focused on strategic lending. Colbeck partners with companies during periods of transition, providing creative capital solutions. Colbeck sponsors its portfolio companies through consistent engagement with management teams in areas such as finance, capital markets and growth strategies, distinguishing itself from traditional lenders. Founded in 2009 by Jason Colodne and Jason Beckman, the principals have participated in over $22 billion of strategic investments and have extensive experience investing through market cycles at leading institutions including such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
