DC Lite #304

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1. New construction. "This level of activity combined w/ current backlog is not enough to sustain residential construction employment indefinitely."

2. Weekly ETF flows. "Over past week, U.S. large-cap equity ETFs had most outflows (nearly $2.8B) while agg bond funds had most inflows (nearly $2.2B)."

3. Post-Covid. "Today marks the five-year anniversary of the equity market peak before the COVID-induced bear market ... The [S&P 500] has achieved 149 record highs and climbed ~95% on a total return basis (14.3% annualized) since [then]."

4. ‘Pass on costs’. "Corporates were reluctant to discuss tariffs [on earnings calls] but a larger portion were willing to say that any cost increases, whether through inflation or from tariffs, would be passed on through price to the end consumer."

5. Profit margins. "Profit margins are still the story. S&P 500 profit margins are on the upturn, with incremental expansion visible beyond the Tech sector too."