The Middle Class Continues to Fall Behind

February’s job growth was significantly stronger (+313,000 Establishment Survey) than market expectations (200,000).  Strangely, though, the unemployment rate (U3) remained at 4.1% (Household Survey) for the fifth straight month.  Why?  Because a significant number of those who had previously stopped looking for work rejoined the labor force, perhaps indicating more labor force slack than the […]

The Fed returns to the shadows

At the end of August, the Standard & Poor’s 500 reached another new milestone, closing above 2,000 for the first time ever. And even the NASDAQ, at nearly 4,600, is now within striking distance of 5,000, a mark it set almost 15 years ago. The fact that the stock market continues to rise in the […]