CPI Will Set the Tone for Financial Markets
It was a light week for economic data, giving markets time to digest and analyze the prior week’s Fed meeting and the unexpected jobs numbers. By Friday (February 10), with the Fed’s unanimous FOMC view that the future held interest rate increases (plural) and reinforced by the spectacular +517,000 jobs numbers, the markets threw in […]
Labor Market/Economy Weaker than Headline Jobs Number Suggests
The big story of the first week of the new year was always going to be about the December jobs number. The Wall Street consensus was +203K for Non-Farm Payrolls, but the headline number, at +223K, handily beat that consensus. As a result, the “soft-landing” narrative is back on the table. The cherry on top […]
Upon Further Review: That “Hot” Labor Market Is Really “Ice Cold”
There are two surveys put out every month: The Payroll or Establishment Survey, which is the one that gets the headlines, and the Household Survey. The Payroll Survey only surveys large and medium-sized businesses and counts the number of jobs. The Household Survey calls on households and only asks if people in the household are […]
Did the Fed Just Blink? The Markets Think So!
Equity markets closed the week higher, up nearly 5% with half the gain occurring on Friday (October 21). There was also big news in bond land. The 10-Year Treasury yield broke the 4% barrier and now stands above 4.2% (see table). Bond yields had been marching ever higher on continued hawkish comments from some Fed […]
For Nine Million, Unemployment Benefits Have Suddenly Ended
The Economic Implications One of the major Wall Street investment houses recently lowered their Q3 GDP growth rate from 6.5% to 2.9% (!!), apparently realizing that two-thirds of the quarter was history, that the data have all been weakening (like August auto sales), and that the fiscal stimulus (helicopter money) was now in the rear-view […]
Growth Will Slow Faster Than Expected
So Says the Current Data The systemic “inflation” and “labor shortage” myths persist in the financial media despite data to the contrary: Layoffs remain at recessionary levels; Wage growth is slowing, not accelerating; Bond yields are falling (where’s the inflation?); Housing and auto buying intentions are at 40 year lows. Inflation The one-year inflation expectation […]