The turmoil in global financial markets on Monday was long in coming but spurred by short-term pressures: the unwinding of the yen-based carry trade, where speculators and short-term investors borrow against the yen to purchase risk assets elsewhere. As these investors exited their positions in the ... READ MORE >
Search Results for: inflation
Job creation slows in July as unemployment increases to 4.3%
U.S. job growth slowed at an accelerated pace in July as 114,000 jobs were added and the unemployment rate increased to 4.3%. The higher jobless rate was driven by the addition of 420,000 people who entered the workforce looking to capture rising wages. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% ... READ MORE >
Back-to-school outlook: Price sensitivity creates consumer spending shifts
In our second installment of our three-part blog series, RSM’s senior industry analyst explores back-to-school shopping trends and the impact on consumer businesses. Even as inflation has moderated, consumers have indicated price hikes and affordability constraints have remained important ... READ MORE >
Productivity continues to climb as investments take hold
The rebound of labor productivity in the second quarter is another sign of why the economy will continue to be on strong footing despite growing concerns over a labor market slowdown. The second quarter’s labor productivity growth was 2.3%, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. Not only did the ... READ MORE >
Fed holds rates steady as it sets up for September cut
The Federal Open Market Committee kept its federal funds policy rate between a range of 5.25% and 5.5% at its meeting Wednesday while signaling that it is moving toward easing its restrictive policy rate. We expect that the FOMC will reduce the policy rate by 25 basis points at its September ... READ MORE >
Job openings exceed forecasts as layoffs and quits reach multiyear lows
Job openings continued to point to strong labor demand, staying above forecast at 8.18 million in June. May’s number was also revised up to 8.23 million, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on Tuesday. The data supported our forecast of another strong month of job gains in July when ... READ MORE >
U.S. July employment report to show a gain of 200,000 jobs
Our provisional forecast for the July jobs report when it is released on Friday implies a net increase in total employment of 200,000 jobs with an easing in the unemployment rate from 4.1% to 4%. In addition, we forecast a 0.3% increase in average hourly earnings, which should translate to a 3.7% ... READ MORE >
American economy grew by 2.8% in second quarter, exceeding forecasts
The U.S. economy advanced at a 2.8% pace in the second quarter, exceeding RSM’s forecast of 2.4%, and was up by 3.1% on a year-ago basis. For the first half of the year, average growth was 2.1%, which should put to rest any arguments that the economy is about to fall off a cliff. Perhaps more ... READ MORE >
GDP preview: U.S. top-line growth to show solid increase
We expect a 2.4% pace of growth with modest downside risk to our forecast when gross domestic product for the second quarter is released on Thursday. The two main swing factors are inventories, which should be quite strong and are likely to make overall top-line economic activity appear stronger than ... READ MORE >
Strong employment enables consumers to maintain spending
Strong employment has sustained consumer spending levels, Commerce Department data for June released on Tuesday shows. Retail sales rose 0.3% to 0.4% in the month, after adjusting for inflation, driven by robust employment despite consumers’ depleted savings and high interest rates. As retailers look ... READ MORE >