Archives| PDF| Research |Week of May 24, 2021
“Most investors have not experienced a period where inflation surprised to the upside.” 
- Nicholas Johnson, portfolio manager of commodities, Pimco.
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Inflation Nation (Second of a Series)
We continue our special series on inflation speaking with Nuveen’s chief investment strategist, Brian Nick.

Brian, there’s a lot of attention being paid by markets to inflation risk. Is this warranted?

“Prices of certain goods and services in the U.S. are rising for a variety of reasons, all of which we believe to be transitory. The main takeaway from April’s CPI report was that inflation is going to peak at a higher level this year than we thought. But the details confirm our long-held belief that this “bump” could be over before the end of the summer.

“We should focus on core prices, because the headline number is distorted by the fact that energy prices were extremely low a year ago, even negative in some cases, if you recall. But even setting that aside, last month’s 0.9% rise in core consumer prices is a very high number...
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Chart of the Week
Reopening Remarks
The reopening of shuttered or nearly closed businesses accounted for a big share of April’s CPI increase.
Source: Nuveen
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Shoe Zone Remains in Rental Term Talks With Landlords After Missed Payments, in Discussion With Suppliers on Delivery Disruption Amid Falling Revenue
U.K. retailer Shoe Zone is in negotiations with its landlords to secure better terms after it failed to meet its rental payments. The company is also in talks with its suppliers after experiencing supply disruption due to container shortages and the Suez Canal obstruction in March. The company has suffered from declining revenue as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and related lockdowns. In 2020, it raised debt for the first time in 15 years with a £15 million Covid‐19 Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) facility from NatWest. The loan requires the group to comply with certain financial covenants.
(To read our EMEA Middle Market team’s analysis of Shoe Zone PLC click through here)
Contact: Matt Danese/Reorg 
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