New claims for U.S. jobless benefits rose 5.6% in the first week of August to 262,000 as layoffs continued to pick up, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday. While there has been a clear upward trend in new unemployment claims, the number remained relatively low compared to the ... READ MORE >
Inflation
U.S. July employment report: A recession is not yet at hand
Economies in recession do not produce 528,000 jobs in a given month and have 3.5% unemployment rates. Since January, total employment has increased by 3.3 million jobs and the unemployment rate has declined from 4% to 3.5%. With such a robust labor market, claims that the economy is in recession fall ... READ MORE >
American spending and income eroded by multi-decade high inflation
American consumer spending barely kept up with price gains in June as the Federal Reserve's key inflation gauge—the Personal Consumption Expenditure price index—reached a new multi-decade high, according to government data released Friday. Additionally, personal income declined for the first time since ... READ MORE >
FOMC policy decision: Fed hikes policy rate by 75 basis points
The Federal Reserve’s price stability campaign advanced at its Wednesday meeting via a hike in the federal funds policy rate by 75 basis points to a range between 2.25 and 2.5%. The central bank stuck to its pace of balance sheet reduction. At this critical juncture, with the policy rate residing in ... READ MORE >
Monetary policy tightening, the bond market and the business cycle
Central banks in developed economies are contending with a series of shocks that have threatened price stability and, ultimately, economic growth. Now, these shocks, which include inflation, interest rate increases and energy market turmoil, are all showing up in fixed income markets. With consumer ... READ MORE >
Consumer confidence drops as new home sales slump
Consumer confidence continued to fall in July to the lowest level since February 2021 amid inflation angst and an economic slowdown, the Conference Board reported on Tuesday. The top-line number fell to 95.7 from 98.4 in June, driven by broad declines across all components. But there was good news: ... READ MORE >
Canada inflation hits 8.1% but shows signs of softening
Inflation reached 8.1% in June in Canada, the highest since January 1983, although the pace of the increase eased compared to previous months, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose by 0.7% in June, down from 1.4% in May. More ... READ MORE >
Travel industry, expecting busy summer, casts wary eye on inflation
This summer was supposed to be the season of revenge travel. With COVID-19 caseloads easing and consumers flush with savings built up during the pandemic, the travel industry was anticipating a robust season. Consumers were so eager to get out of the house that little could deter them, the thinking ... READ MORE >
How lumber tells the story of home building during the pandemic
RSM took a detailed look at gross margins across different peer groups to see how each has fared during this time of high inflation. In this article—part of a series—we examine margins for timber companies, lumber producers and homebuilders. Here is what we found. Lumber prices have had a tumultuous two ... READ MORE >
Inflation and gross margins—who is winning? Part 1: The transportation sector
RSM took a detailed look at gross margins across different peer groups in the industrials sector to see how each has fared during this time of high inflation. In this article—part of a series—we examine margins for the transportation sector. Here is what we found. The industrials sector played a ... READ MORE >