Labor demand surged again in December after two consecutive drops, according to government data released on Wednesday hours ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision. The number of job vacancies jumped to 11 million in December from 10.4 million, mostly driven by seasonal-related categories like ... READ MORE >
Inflation
Canadian economy grew by 0.1% in November
Canada’s gross domestic product edged up by 0.1% in November, the same rate of growth as October, as tightened monetary policies continued to slow the economy. For last three months of 2022, average growth was 1.6% annualized, down from 2.9% in the previous quarter, Statistics Canada reported on ... READ MORE >
Labor costs slow, setting the stage for smaller Fed rate hike
Labor costs decelerated in the last quarter of 2022, adding to the justification for the Federal Reserve to slow its rate increases to 25 basis points after its meeting on Wednesday. The index showed that labor cost growth fell to 1.0% on a quarterly basis, and to 5.1% on a year-ago basis for all ... READ MORE >
American consumers grow more cautious as spending falls
American consumers pulled back on their spending for the second month in a row in December amid a continuing economic slowdown and elevated inflation. Also contributing to the decline were weak income growth and the decreasing stock of excess savings. Spending fell by 0.2% in dollar terms and by 0.3% ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims fall despite layoff news
New filings for unemployment benefits fell to a 10-month low last week, a stark contrast to the recent spike in reports of job losses at prominent companies. There were 186,000 new claims added, the fourth week in a row that new claims were below the pre-pandemic average, according to Labor Department ... READ MORE >
U.S. GDP: Resilient growth closes out a challenging year
A resilient American economy grew by 2.9% during the final three months of last year because of a strong increase in demand for services by consumers, fixed business investment and inventory restocking. Overall gross domestic product for the full year increased by 2.1% on an annualized basis and by ... READ MORE >
Back-to-normal supply chain fuels disinflation tailwind
Supply chains in the United States continued to recover in December, remaining at the pre-COVID level for the sixth straight month as most of the damage from the pandemic has now faded, according to the RSM US Supply Chain Index. The recovery in supply chains has been one of the most important factors ... READ MORE >
Home sales dropped by 17.8% last year in biggest drop since 2008
Sales of existing homes fell for the 11th straight month in December, finishing their worst year since 2008, the National Association of Realtors reported on Friday. Still, there is some room left for sales to fall further as the Federal Reserve has signaled that it will continue to tighten monetary ... READ MORE >
Shipping costs from China plunge, helping ease inflation
Moderating inflation across the global and domestic economies has been driven by declining costs of goods, which through December fell by 4.8% on a three-month average annualized basis. While there are risks around further disruptions to global supply chains linked to the surge in ... READ MORE >
U.S. retail sales and producer inflation fall as spending weakens
Retail sales and producer inflation data came in lower than expected in December, giving the Federal Reserve more reasons to begin to slow down its rate hikes. Sales at retail stores and online showed broad declines in the last month of the year, dropping by 1.1%. November's number was also ... READ MORE >