Channel 11: April Angst

In the latest episode of Channel 11, “April Angst,” DoubleLine Portfolio Manager Ken Shinoda delves into the month’s tumultuous market movements. Despite initial fears, equities largely reversed their losses, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq showing resilience. He also highlights significant concerns around global growth, particularly due to tariffs, which have led to downgraded GDP forecasts and negative sentiment data. Mr. Shinoda notes that manufacturing PMI remains weak, and the services sector’s performance will be crucial in determining future economic trends. He also discusses the impact of tariffs on consumer prices: “My wife buys stuff for the kids sometimes off of Temu, and prices have doubled, if not tripled, off some of those Chinese discounter websites.”

Mr. Shinoda further explores the implications of weakening employment data for inflation and the Federal Reserve’s response. He observes that job openings are at their lowest since 2021, a possibly positive sign for inflation but a negative one for economic growth. The episode also covers the performance of commodities and the mixed bag of fixed income returns. Mr. Shinoda emphasizes the importance of diversification in portfolios, stating, “Diversification from equities is working. We’ve talked in the past about credit being a replacement for equities when it’s yielding 6% to 7% over the long run.” Overall, he adopts a cautious yet optimistic stance, urging viewers to keep an eye on upcoming data and market developments.