Among last week’s important economic data releases, May’s housing sales, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending reports stood out. The pace of existing home sales fell for the fourth month in a row, as limited supply and rising prices hindered sales. Once again, this week will be packed with updates, including a look into consumer and manufacturer sentiment and the release of the June employment report.
News
Shocks Versus Trends
Today, I’ll take a break from focusing on the labor market to look at a related, but shorter-term issue—shocks versus trends. This topic has current relevance, as well as wider applicability, so it is worth thinking through.
Pandemic Not an Issue for Economy (for Now)
With the ongoing improvement in the medical news, this will be the last of the regular coronavirus updates. I had hoped it would also be the end of the need to cover the pandemic as a separate topic. But with the potential rise of the delta variant of COVID and the possibility of new outbreaks, that may not be the case. I will be providing updates as needed in the future.
Inflation Versus Wage Growth: 2021 Edition
At the start of 2020, I did a piece on inflation versus wage growth where I looked at a bunch of different indicators. The short version of that post is that, for working people, wage growth had generally been higher than inflation over the preceding five years or so.
Appearance on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria, June 22, 2021 [Video]
Yesterday I appeared on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria to discuss inflation and the market outlook. Watch the full segment.
What’s Going on with the Job Market?
One of the biggest questions for the economy right now is the job market. The headlines are doing a good job covering the immediate issues—labor shortages, wage increases, and so forth. But the more I look at it, there are a couple of implicit assumptions in how we view the job market that need more consideration. For example, much of the analysis has taken what is going on now as something that is happening without any warning and for no apparent reason. But is that really the case?
Olivia has joined Riverstone Wealth Partners providing knowledge gained from her 15 plus years in management. Olivia has provided services within the financial industry, mortgage industry, and in the non-profit sector. Olivia thrives on providing stellar customer service, accomplishing all goals set before her, and doing the right thing. Olivia’s degree in Business Management allowed her to take on roles that ultimately led her to Riverstone Wealth Partners. Olivia is currently pursuing another degree with an emphasizes in Human Resources, which she has learned over time… is her passion!
Ashley has been working in the customer service field since she started her first job at age 16. For the past ten years she worked in an office setting handling accounts payable and receivable as well as some receptionist work. She is very excited to learn more about the investment field.
Alec joined Riverstone after starting out his post college career on the operations side of an international logistics company working as an account executive. Graduating with a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he quickly developed a strong interest in the financial world. A lifetime resident of the Chicagoland area, Alec is an avid fan of his hometown sports teams. He is also an enthusiast of outdoor activities like fishing, camping, and hiking whenever possible.
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