This is the fourth issue of The Latticework Monday Morning Briefing. It is being sent on a separate mailing list (complimentary to members), so if you do not wish to receive it, you can opt out here.
A few words on the format
The Briefing is designed to answer a deceptively simple question. If you were sitting down before the weekly market open, as an investor rather than a trader, what would you want in front of you?
Each week, the Briefing walks through four parts.
Weekly Review & Outlook covers equity performance, sector moves, the earnings just reported, and the earnings coming up, alongside curated editorial highlights from our Weekly Inspiration newsletter.
Idea Generation surfaces candidates from screens we run: biggest decliners, names near 52-week lows, low multiples, high FCF yields, spinoffs, activist situations, buybacks, short interest, and more.
Market Valuation & Positioning steps back to the index level: the Buffett Indicator, aggregate multiples versus history, S&P 500 concentration, equal-weight versus cap-weight, and long-run factor returns.
Macro & Fixed Income rounds out the picture with rates, credit spreads, the Fed balance sheet, the dollar, labor, and housing.
The third issue is attached below. We welcome your suggestions for improvement as we refine the format week to week.
A bit of early feedback
“Loving these Monday briefings!” —Jon Bartel
“Most of what I monitor, all in one place. Great value add.” —Brad Lummis
“A great piece and thoughtfully assembled.” —Brian Wolf
“Tightly presented and easy to digest. I just spent 20 minutes going through it, and it’s helped to level set me for the week ahead.” —Michael Loftis
“Worth its weight in gold.” —Shree Viswanathan
Table of contents
Please note: Certain slides showing data that is updated on a monthly or quarterly basis are not included in every issue of the Monday Morning Briefing.
Part 1 — Weekly Review & Outlook (p. 3)
Global equity index performance across regions
GICS sector total returns
Weekly commodity price changes
Quarterly earnings: biggest beats and misses
Top reporters by market cap, week ahead
Takeaways from featured Weekly Inspiration articles
Curated video and audio from Weekly Inspiration
Part 2 — Idea Generation (p. 13)
S&P 500 stocks with the largest weekly declines
Largest weekly declines among US stocks
Stocks nearest their 52-week lows
Key takeaways from curated analytical articles
Featured spin-off opportunities
Notable activist campaigns and acquisition proposals
Open-market purchases by officers, directors, 10+% owners
S&P 500 share repurchase activity, trailing twelve months
FINRA consolidated short interest
Ranked by short interest as a percent of float
S&P 500 highest FCF yield (ex-financials)
S&P 500 highest trailing earnings yield (all sectors)
S&P 500 cheapest by EV/EBITDA (ex-financials)
S&P 500 cheapest by price / tangible book value
US micro-caps, P/S < 1.0, ranked by 52-week price change
Part 3 — Market Valuation & Positioning (p. 29)
Equity market value / GDP
After-tax corporate profits / GDP
S&P 500 trailing P/E
S&P 500 earnings yield vs. 10-year Treasury
Trailing P/E by GICS sector
Top 10 holdings by index weight
RSP / SPY relative performance, trailing one year
Russell 2000 / S&P 500 relative performance, five years
S&P 500 breadth indicators
Money market fund assets and ETF category returns
CBOE VIX implied volatility term structure
FINRA net margin debt — customer securities margin accounts
S&P 500 calendar-year returns and largest intra-year drawdowns
Fama/French value spread — gap between cheap and expensive
Fama/French HML factor — cumulative return spread by decade
Growth of $1 invested in Fama/French style portfolios since 1926
Part 4 — Macro & Fixed Income (p. 45)
U.S. Treasury yield curve
10-year Treasury yield minus year-over-year CPI
U.S. high yield credit spreads
Federal Reserve total assets and composition
M2 money stock, year-over-year change
Total public debt as a percent of GDP
Trade-weighted U.S. dollar index
Unemployment rate and initial jobless claims
30-year mortgage rate and housing starts, trailing ten years
Enjoy this week’s Monday Morning Briefing.
