The decomposition of bond yields rests on two factors: first, expectations, or the average of future short-term interest rates; and second, a term premium that reflects compensation demanded by investors to hold riskier long-term bonds. Given that expectations are anchored by Federal Reserve policy guidance, approximately 80% of the recent increase in yields on the U.S. 10-year Treasury can be attributed to the term premium, with only 20% credited to changing expectations of where short-term rates will be over the next 10 years. … READ MORE >
Joe Brusuelas
US July CPI: Further moderation in inflation as Fed prepares policy pivot
Inflation continued to moderate in July as both topline and core inflation increased 0.2% while the former increased 2.9% from one year ago and the latter advanced 3.2%. The internals of the report tend to suggest that there will be further relief in the offing as housing and service inflation has plenty of room to ease further in the second half of the year. … READ MORE >
FOMC preview: Is 10 the magic number?
We expect the Federal Reserve to hike the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 5% to 5.25% at its May 3 meeting, with changes in the FOMC statement that imply a possible pause in the rate hike campaign and a bias toward future tightening if inflation proves sticky and stubborn. … READ MORE >
Hiring cools in March as fears of a wage price spiral ease
The U.S. March employment report indicated that total jobs increased by 236,000, illustrating that hiring remains strong, albeit at a slower pace. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday report points toward easing concerns of a wage price spiral that underscores the direction of monetary policy as the Fed is poised to hike its policy rate by 25 basis points at its May 3 meeting. … READ MORE >
FOMC preview: Policy rate moving higher as Fed may prepare to slow pace of price stability campaign
We expect the Federal Reserve to increase its policy rate by 75 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4% when it publishes its policy decision on Nov. 2. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will almost surely utilize the press conference following the FOMC meeting to note that at one point it will make sense to slow the pace of rate hikes as the central bank ascertains the lagged impact of past rate hikes on the real economy. This will be paired with the text of the policy statement, where the Fed will likely retain language stating “that ongoing increases in the target rate will be appropriate.” … READ MORE >
FOMC policy decision preview: Fed to hike lending rate .75% next week
A 100-basis-point increase in the federal funds rate will be on the table during the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week, but we expect the central bank will hike the policy rate by 75 basis points. … READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims decline ahead of expected delta-driven turbulence
First-time jobless claims declined to 348,000 for the week ending Aug. 14, 2021, from a previous upwardly revised 377,000. … READ MORE >
Labor market improvement is not a one-way street: jobless claims increase to 412,000
First-time jobless claims increased to 412,000 for the week ending June 12, from a revised 375,000 previously, the government said on Thursday. However, the top-line increase remains well below the 529,200 13-week moving average within the series, implying that conditions for further improvement remain intact. … READ MORE >
Labor market update: Signs of normalization as long-term challenges persist
The labor market is showing signs of optimism that might best be described as hedging its bets—confident that the vaccination program will eventually allow the reemergence of the normal workplace, but recognizing that it may not take just a snap of the fingers to get there. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Estimating unemployment during the pandemic
Friday’s headline U3 unemployment rate of 6.0% for February is likely an undercount of the number of out-of-work people in the United States, not by design, but by the peculiar circumstances of the pandemic. While the topline change in net employment after adding in back revisions was 1.072 million, it will likely be later in 2022 before the economy returns to full employment, which we define as somewhere near 3.5%. … READ MORE >