Daily Archives: September 17, 2022

UNCASVILLE, Connecticut The WNBA schedule is often filled with quirks, and the 2022 postseason is no different. Its a complicated endeavor to squish games into broadcast windows and arena availability, hence why the stretch of off days between certain games seems out of whack this week.

The best-of-five series started with the leagues standard Game 1 on Sunday and Game 2 on Tuesday. Those were both in Las Vegas. When the series switched to Connecticut, there was only one day between games and the league paid for charter flights to get the teams across the country to avoid commercial travel problems that are a common headache.

Yet, with the Sun keeping the series alive on Thursday night, there are two full days from Game 3 until Game 4 on Sunday. All in rural Connecticut even though teams just traveled across the country on the rest day. That short turnaround threw some players off guard, possibly because of the juxtaposition.

I didnt understand that there was only a day break between [games] two and three, which I thought it should be two. [But thats] neither here nor there, Aces point guard Chelsea Gray said at shootaround before Game 3.

If the series goes a full five games and the Sun sure made it look like it could there will again be only one day between Game 4 and Game 5 to travel. And that decider wont even be at the Aces house.

Arena availability is complex in this league, and we did the best we could with the footprint we had with the FIBA World Cup this year, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said ahead of Game 1 in Las Vegas.

The Finals schedule isnt much too different than 2021 other than being held earlier because of the FIBA World Cup next week but it is a switch from the five Finals preceding it.

A violinist plays the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the 2022 WNBA Finals between Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Sept. 15, 2022. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Team front offices often have to plan around already scheduled events at their arenas since they do not own them. They have been kicked off their home court for stretches (the Los Angeles Sparks to start the 2021 season) and for elimination playoff games (the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the 2021 playoffs). Thats why Engelbert has said an expansion team will need to offer the right arena situation.

Story continues

Both Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas and Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, have events going on that might have impacted the Finals schedule.

On Friday night at Mohegan, comedian Daniel Tosh and his Leaves and Lobster Tour are coming through, and on Saturday, its Il Volo in concert. That kicks practices 10 minutes away to a different arena. Both teams took Friday off instead.

If and when it moves 2,659 miles back to the desert, the teams will move up the Vegas strip to the MGM Grand Garden Arena due to a scheduling conflict with a private event at Michelob Ultra. MGMs arena has capacity for 16,800, more than the 12,000 max for concerts at Michelob Ultra. The Aces sold out their first two games with 10,200 fans. Even though it can hold more people, the Aces are at a disadvantage in that it isnt the arena they call home and where they play most games.

The single travel day was a factor last season, but absent in the five Finals schedules before it. (The 2020 season is not considered in this analysis since it was held in a bubble in Bradenton, Florida, and travel was not an issue. Games were every other day.)

The 2021 schedule was Sunday-Wednesday-Friday-Sunday. Thats three non-weeknight tipoffs. With one day between Game 2 in Phoenix and Game 3 in Chicago, the league stepped in and paid for a charter flight between cities for that trip only. There are 1,721 miles between arenas and two time zones instead of three.

In 2019, when the Sun faced the Washington Mystics, there were a whopping five days between those games. It was so long teams could have taken a train up the coast and been OK. The turnaround to a Game 5 was one day.

In 2018, there were three days when the series shifted from Seattle to the District. In 2017, it was three days for Minnesota-Los Angeles and then three days again between Games 4 and 5. In 2016, it was three and four days, respectively, for the same teams. And in 2015, it was three and three for Minnesota and Indiana.

No teams were as far apart in distance than the Aces and Sun. The WNBA plans out dates in advance and this year had to fit the season in before the World Cup tips off on Sept. 20. As it is, players in the USA Basketball pool who are here in Connecticut might be late already and certainly will miss the first game if it goes a full five.

ESPN's Andraya Carter, Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe before Game 1 of the 2022 WNBA Finals between the Connecticut Sun and the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 11, 2022. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Its more than likely the league is partly at the whims of its longtime broadcast partner when it comes to playoff scheduling. CBS Sports, Prime Video and more have joined in airing WNBA games, but the ESPN networks air the postseason exclusively. This is the first of 26 seasons that the company is airing all games on either the main ESPN or ABC.

The Finals usually begin at the end of September or early October, where they compete with the NFL and college football. But this year, Game 1, which aired on ABC Sunday, competed with the NFLs opening weekend.

Our strategy is to find the best broadcast windows with our partners and get the most visibility and coverage we can get with Google and ESPN and why we have ramped that up, and CBS as well, Engelbert said ahead of the Finals. The more windows we can get, like on ABC, we are going to do even though we are going to compete obviously against a popular league like the NFL.

Game 1 viewership still did well, peaking at 872,000 viewers to earn the status of the most-viewed Game 1 in five years. There are too many variables to determine the significance of that number, though viewership has been up this season. Engelbert said she understands the frustration over conflicts, but the WNBA is always going to compete with something.

There are not easy solutions to that one, and it's not binary us or them, Engelbert said. We have to do the best we can at marketing our game, players have to do their best with play on the court and hope that our fans are going to come out and come out in big ways. And they have during all these playoffs.

Game 3 brought out a modest 8,745 fans for a 9 p.m. ET start on a weeknight in the Suns rural small market. But tickets had already been selling faster for Game 4 on Sunday afternoon and fans in a nearby hotel lamented Friday morning how few tickets were available when they went to snag them. Because of the quirky schedule, Connecticut has time to pack its own house.

Originally posted here:

Why the WNBA Finals schedule is so different than in past seasons - Yahoo Sports

Stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride this year, as soaring inflation and fears of a recession have continued to roil markets.

With concerns lingering that the worst is yet to come for equities, investors are searching for the best hedge against whats on the horizon.

Bank of America analysts predicted in a note on Thursday that equities were still set to hit fresh lows, warning that the inflation shock aint over.

Morgan Stanley also warned earlier this month that investors should buckle up for more stock market turbulence, while Deutsche Bank has forecast the S&P 500which was trading at around 3,860 points on Friday morningcould drop as low as 3,000 points in the event of a recession.

According to Citigroup, the U.S. dollar is the only sensible hedge against looming economic headwinds that will destroy riskier assets value.

In a research note on Thursday, the lenders strategists said a deep recession would be needed to significantly correct spiraling inflation in the United States, which would continue to pummel equities.

They argued that the greenbacks inverse relationship with risk assets such as stocks, which have nose-dived this year, made U.S. currency the best place for investors to ride out what was likely to be a volatile remainder of the year.

The only place to hide is in U.S. dollar cash, Citis strategists said in the note.

The greenback has had an extraordinary run in 2022, with the dollar index gaining around 15% so far this year to reach 20-year highs.

According to ING, the currency is likely to remain at lofty levels for the rest of the year.

Despite its continuous strength, however, some top investors disagree with using the dollar as a hedge against ongoing uncertainty in stock markets.

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associatesthe worlds biggest hedge fundtold CNBC, Cash is still trash in May, citing the impact of inflation, but he noted that equities could be an even worse bet.

Meanwhile, Lisa Shalett, CIO of Morgan Stanleys Wealth Management division, said on Monday that investors should proceed with caution when it comes to Americas currency, warning that its extreme strength could lead to bouts of instability.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Follow this link:

This is the only asset investors can use as a recession hedge this year, Citi says - Yahoo Finance

Phil Mickelson, it seems, is now looking for a merge of sorts between the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

Mickelson who has both been the face of and received the most criticism for joining the Saudi Arabian-backed venture insisted that the golf startup is here to stay on Friday after his round at a LIV tournament outside of Chicago on Friday afternoon.

While he and others who joined the league have been suspended from PGA Tour events, as well as Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams, Mickelson thinks its time for the two leagues to come together.

The PGA Tour, for the last 20 or 30 years have had all the best players in the world. That will never be the case again, Mickelson said, despite the fact that no Official World Golf Rankings points can be earned at LIV Golf events.

LIV Golf is here to stay. The best solution is for us to come together. I think that the world of professional golf has a need for the old historical 'history of the game' product that the PGA Tour provides. I think that LIV provides a really cool, updated feel that is attracting a lot of younger crowds.

Mickelson isnt alone in wanting to play in certain PGA Tour events. Bryson DeChambeau said he wished he could play there, as well as for Team USA, on Thursday.

One of the biggest reasons players cited when jumping ship for LIV Golf, however, was the relaxed schedule. With only eight tournaments on this years schedule, there is far less travel and time involved for them. Yet, if they were to start playing in both leagues, that argument goes out the window which is something Billy Horschel called them out for ahead of the BMW PGA Championship.

Theres also a lawsuit that Mickelson and other LIV Golf players filed against the PGA Tour. Until thats resolved one way or another, its hard to imagine the Tour welcoming Mickelson and his LIV Golf counterparts back with open arms. Mickelson did say that he is considering removing himself from the lawsuit on Thursday.

Story continues

Despite his court filings, Mickelson hopes they can eventually co-exist.

"I think both are needed for the game of golf. Both are good for the game of golf, he said. The inclusion of LIV Golf in the ecosystem of the golf world is necessary.

As soon as that happens and we all start working together, thats going to be a really positive thing for everyone."

Despite his criticism, and ongoing lawsuit, Phil Mickelson wants the PGA Tour to start working alongside LIV Golf. (AP/Mary Schwalm)

More here:

Phil Mickelson now ready for LIV Golf and PGA Tour to come together - Yahoo Sports

This post was originally published on TKer.co.

Jim Reid, macro strategist at the bank, wrote that historically the S&P 500 normally always only bottoms in a recession and usually not until mid-way through.

Reid and his colleagues expect the U.S. economy to enter a recession in 2023. As such, they also believe the S&P 500 is likely to see a low that year before resuming any rally.

There are two ways of thinking about this chart.

First, recessions are common in history and recession-related market downturns can be very tough. On average, the S&P has historically lost about a third of its value during these periods.

Second, the chart reminds us that the stock market has always recovered those losses and then some. Yes, there are extended periods of difficulty, which make the market unfriendly for investors with weak stomachs and very short time horizons. But for those with longer-term investment horizons, time pays.

According to FactSet, 240 of the S&P 500 companies made mention of recession on their recent Q2 earnings calls. This was well above the five-year average of 52. Its clear that recessions are on a lot of peoples minds.

But its not all gloom.

The thing about recessions is, they're always followed by a recovery, Jeff Campbell, CFO of American Express, said on the companys earnings call.

More from TKer:

There were a few notable datapoints from last week to consider.

According to GasBuddys Patrick De Haan, the national average price of gasoline fell to $3.72 on Friday, down from its high of $5.02 on June 14. This is great news as energy is a major driver of most measures of inflation.

Story continues

The Conference Boards Employment Trends Index, a composite of labor market indicators, improved in August. From the firms economist Frank Steemers: Labor shortages may continue to be a challenge for businesses, and even if they ease during a coming recession, they could soon reappear after economic activity picks up again. Therefore, employers may try to hold onto their workers.

Consumers, including lower-income consumers, still have money to spend. From a Bank of America report released Friday: Bank of America data also indicates that customer savings and checking accounts continue to remain elevated relative to before the pandemic. The largest proportionate increases in median savings and checking balances are seen in lower income households (Exhibit 11). There has been some rise in the share of total card spending on credit cards in Bank of America internal data, Exhibit 12, but this is relatively small. The rise also seems more focused in higher income households rather than lower income ones.

The massive U.S. services sector came with mixed reports. According to the ISM Services PMI, growth accelerated in the sector during August. Meanwhile, the S&P Global U.S. Services PMI suggested activity in the sector contracted at the sharpest rate since May 2020. However, both reports showed prices were cooling, supplier delivery times were normalizing, and hiring was still positive.

Supply chains have improved considerably in recent months. The New York Feds Global Supply Chain Pressure Index a composite of various supply chain indicators fell in August to its lowest level since February 2021, meaning supply chains are easing.

Mortgage rates continue to trend higher. According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 3.89% during the week ending September 8. This was the highest reading since November 2008.

New data from Redfin confirmed this negative selling sentiment. From Redfins weekly housing market update: New listings of homes for sale were down 18% from a year earlier, also the largest decline since May 2020. Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell 1.2% from the prior four-week period.

Stocks rallied last week with the S&P 500 rising 3.6% to close at 4,067.36. The index is now down 15.2% from its January 3 closing high of 4,796.56 and up 10.9% from its June 16 closing low of 3,666.77.

Whether its due to the slowing economy or the cooling housing market, inflation seems to be moderating and supply chains seem to be improving. All of this is happening as the labor market remains robust, marked by low layoff activity.

While price indicators have been easing, inflation remains high. And so financial markets remain volatile as the Fed increasingly tightens financial conditions in its effort to bring down inflation. As such, recession risks linger and analysts have been trimming their forecasts for earnings. For now, all of this makes for a conundrum for the stock market until we get compelling evidence that inflation is indeed under control.

Subscribed

Heres a roundup of some of TKers most talked-about paid and free newsletters. All of the headlines are hyperlinked to the archived pieces.

Passive investing is a concept usually associated with buying and holding a fund that tracks an index. And no passive investment strategy has attracted as much attention as buying an S&P 500 index fund. However, the S&P 500 an index of 500 of the largest U.S. companies is anything but a static set of 500 stocks. From January 1995 through April 2022, 728 tickers have been added to the S&P 500, while 724 have been removed.

S&P Dow Jones Indices found that funds beat their benchmark in a given year are rarely able to continue outperforming in subsequent years. According to their research, 29% of 791 large-cap equity funds beat the S&P 500 in 2019. Of those funds, 75% beat the benchmark again in 2020. But only 9.1%, or 21 funds, were able to extend that outperformance streak into 2021.

Investors should always be mentally prepared for some big sell-offs in the stock market. Its part of the deal when you invest in an asset class that is sensitive to the constant flow of good and bad news. Since 1950, the S&P has seen an average annual max drawdown (i.e. the biggest intra-year sell-off) of 14%.

While valuations feature importantly in our toolbox to estimate forward equity returns, we should dispel an oft-repeated myth that equity valuations are mean-reverting, Goldman Sachs analysts argued. there is only 26% confidence that the Shiller CAPE is mean-reverting, and 74% confidence that it is not.

Picking stocks in an attempt to beat market averages is an incredibly challenging and sometimes money-losing effort. In fact, most professional stock pickers arent able to do this on a consistent basis. One of the reasons for this is that most stocks dont deliver above-average returns. According to S&P Dow Jones Indices, only 22% of the stocks in the S&P 500 outperformed the index itself from 2000 to 2020. Over that measurement period, the S&P 500 gained 322% while the median stock rose by just 63%.

Five stocks (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google) account for a massive share of the market capitalization of the S&P 500, which consists of 500 companies. While it may be technically accurate to say these five stocks represent five companies, its also a gross oversimplification of the businesses and markets these companies are exposed to.

The stock market can be an intimidating place: its real money on the line, theres an overwhelming amount of information, and people have lost fortunes in it very quickly. But its also a place where thoughtful investors have long accumulated a lot of wealth. The primary difference between those two outlooks is related to misconceptions about the stock market that can lead people to make poor investment decisions.

This post was originally published on TKer.co.

Sam Ro is the author of TKer.co. Follow him on Twitter at @SamRo

Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube

View original post here:

Two ways of thinking about this chart of stocks and recessions - Yahoo Finance