By Tom Burnett CFA On February 3, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the employment data for January. Total employment rose by 517,000 jobs, compared with an average monthly gain of 401,000 in 2022. The unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.4%, the lowest level since 1969. Total employment…
By Tom Burnett CFA On February 1, 2023, the Federal Reserve formally raised the Fed Funds rate range by 25 basis points. The new range is 4.50-75%, the highest level since the Fed began raising rates in early 2022. The vote was unanimous among the voting members of the Open Market Committee. In its announcement…
By Tom Burnett CFA On January 30, 2023, the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) issued its revised estimates for global GDP growth in 2023 and 2024. The latest forecast is an update from the prior report issued in October 2022. The IMF now sees global GDP growth of 2.9% this year, compared to its…
By Tom Burnett CFA On January 18, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report on the Producer Price Index for December 2022. The PPI declined by 0.5% in December, after advancing by 0.2% in November and by 0.4% in October. Over the past 12 months, the PPI rose 6.2%, following an increase…
By Tom Burnett CFA On January 12, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index report for December 2022. The CPI fell by 0.1 %, the lowest reading in more than 13 months. Over the past six months, the average monthly increase has been 0.15% with the highest readings in September…