New jobless claims increased for the first time in six weeks, yet they remained under the pre-pandemic level despite a significant recent increase in layoff announcements. New filings for unemployment benefits increased by 7.1% to 196,000 for the week ending Feb. 4, the Labor Department ... READ MORE >
inflation
Fed hikes rates by 25 basis points as it approaches peak
Price stability for the past three decades has been defined as a 2% inflation target, far below the elevated levels of the past year. Now, after a year of aggressively raising interest rates to bring down inflation, the Federal Reserve faces the monumental choice on when to pause its rate hikes. On ... READ MORE >
Job openings rise again in December, adding to pressure on the Fed
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 >
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 >
Housing starts fell last year for the first time since 2009
The housing market continued to show little sign of reaching a bottom in December as housing starts and permits fell again to cap off the first year of decline since 2009. Housing starts dropped by 1.4% on an annualized month-ago basis, while building permits fell by 1.6%. For all of last year, housing ... 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 >