Economy Thread

[B-Man]

11 hours ago, Ann said:

Producer prices rose 11.2% from a year ago in March, the biggest gain on record

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Uncle Joe]

Let's Go Brandon!

I have a part of me that wants to troll Triberius and tell him  to GF himself.
 

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Uncle Joe
insert graph

[Ann]

All is well! 🔔

The same AP title and story was picked up everywhere, so same wording... it is a positive event!

Imma guessin' a lot of the spending was house buying as people are trying to get ahead of the rate increase coming - well, that and everything simply costs more due to inflation.
 

US economy shrank by 1.4% in Q1
 

The U.S. economy shrank last quarter for the first time since the pandemic recession struck two years ago, contracting at a 1.4% annual rate, but consumers and businesses kept spending in a sign of underlying resilience.
 

The weak showing does not mean a recession is likely in the coming months. Most economists expect a rebound in the April-June quarter as solid hiring and wage gains sustain growth.
 

</snip>

[Uncle Joe]

On 4/28/2022 at 7:10 AM, Ann said:

All is well! 🔔

The same AP title and story was picked up everywhere, so same wording... it is a positive event!

SO have we hit the hobo low yet?

 

[Foxx]

13 hours ago, Uncle Joe said:

SO have we hit the hobo low yet?

 

45,000 Dow by the end of the year?

[Uncle Joe]

On 4/30/2022 at 6:25 AM, Foxx said:

45,000 Dow by the end of the year?

My eyes are hurting, I can't see it.

[Ann]

Oh sure, just as we are putting our house up for sale. They couldn't have waited a month? 😞 (no idea about the guidance) 

 

Fed raises interest rates by half a percentage point

 
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it is raising interest rates by a half-percentage point to get a handle on the worst inflation America has seen in 40 years.
 

It’s the first time in 22 years that the central bank has hiked rates this much.
 

</snip>

[Ann]

Some good news, assuming the numbers do not get revised down "unexpectedly." There was a drop in the labor patriation and wage growth, however. 

 

U.S. job growth remained robust in April as the unemployment rate held near its pre-virus low, further underscoring the still-tight domestic labor market.
 

The Labor Department released its monthly jobs report for April Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared with consensus data compiled by Bloomberg:

• Non-farm payrolls: +428,000 vs. +380,000 expected and a revised +428,000 in March
• Unemployment rate: 3.6% vs. 3.5% expected, 3.6% in March
• Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: 0.3% vs. 0.4% expected and a revised 0.4% in March
• Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: 5.5% vs. 5.5% expected, 5.6% in March

</snip>

 

And though payroll gains were also slightly downwardly revised for February and March, these increases were still solid on a historical basis. In February, employment grew by 714,000, versus the 750,000 previously reported, while March employment was upwardly revised by 3,000 to reach 428,000.

 

Services-based employers have brought back some of the most jobs yet again in April, as companies hastened to hire back workers let go during the pandemic to meet renewed consumer demand. Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry increased by 78,000 in April, slowing just slightly from March's 100,000. Education and health services employers brought back slightly more jobs in April compared to March at 59,000. Transportation and warehousing payroll gains increased much more markedly in April compared to March, rising by 52,000 compared to 9,500 during the prior month.

 

In the goods-producing sector, payroll growth was little changed month-on-month, with jobs growing by 66,000 in April. This was in turn led by hiring in manufacturing, where payrolls grew 55,000.

 

</snip>

[Nouseforaname]

Question for my American friends, are you all still suffering from a labor shortage?

 

Gas prices are very high, 5 year fixed is hitting 4% and inflation is obviously a thing but stores are closing early because no one wants to work.

 

I’ve never seen such a thing. 

[Deranged Rhino]

 

$90B in 9 weeks. 

 

Not a bad racket if you can get it. 

 

But don't worry, this will have no lasting impact on the US economy, its stability, or the lives of its people. We must do this to (check notes) maintain global security. 

 

There's stupid, then there's neocon/neoliberal stupid. 

[Deranged Rhino]

 

[Deranged Rhino]

 

[Ann]

...

 

[Uncle Joe]

Biden on now blaming inflation on the pandemic and Putin. 

Edit: Oh, and also MAGA Republicans. I don't think he knows what MAGA means.

Edited May 10, 2022 by Uncle Joe

[Billsandhorns]

3 hours ago, Uncle Joe said:

Biden on now blaming inflation on the pandemic and Putin. 

Edit: Oh, and also MAGA Republicans. I don't think he knows what MAGA means.

The buck stops here, not really but it stops here 

[Ann]

"took a breather"  What a 🤡

[Ann]

Inflation barreled ahead at 8.3% in April from a year ago, remaining near 40-year highs

• The consumer price index accelerated 8.3% in April, more than the 8.1% estimate and near the highest level in more than 40 years.
• Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also was higher than expected, rising 6.2%.
• Shelter costs, which comprise about one-third of the CPI, rose at their fastest pace since 1991.

</snip>

[Deranged Rhino]

 

[Ann]

Wholesale inflation rose 11% in April as producer prices keep accelerating

 

Prices at the wholesale level accelerated further in April, part of a broader inflation problem persisting through the U.S. economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.
 

The producer price index, which tracks how much manufacturers get for products at their initial sale, rose 0.5% on the month and 11% from a year ago, a decrease from the record 11.5% in March that was revised upward 0.3 percentage points.

 

</snip>

 

 

[Ann]

Bad news (we are officially in a recession)
 

First-quarter GDP declined 1.5%, worse than thought; jobless claims edge lower

• First-quarter GDP declined at a 1.5% annual pace, worse than the 1.3% Dow Jones estimate and a writedown from the initially reported 1.4%.
• The pullback in GDP represented the worst quarter since the pandemic-scarred Q2 of 2020.
• Initial jobless claims totaled 210,000, a decline of 8,000 from the previous week.

</snip>

More bad news
 

Natural gas surges above $9, hits the highest since 2008 as inventories stay low
 

Natural gas surged above $9 per million British thermal units, or MMBtu, on Wednesday, hitting the highest level in more than a decade as dwindling inventories push prices higher.
 

U.S. prices surged more than 6% at one point to hit a high of $9.399 per MMBtu, the highest since August 2008. The contract later gave back the bulk of those gains, ending the day 1.99% higher at $8.971 per MMBtu.
 

</snip>
 

Rapidly rising prices are adding to inflationary pressures across the economy. Drivers are already grappling with record high prices at the gas pump, and now utility bills are set to increase too. While utility companies might have once switched to coal as a cheaper alternative, coal-fueled power is also now in short supply with a number of plants going offline due in part to ESG — environmental, social and governance — concerns.

 

</snip>

And possibly more bad news (depends on how aggressive they are)