Notes From the Desk: US Payrolls – Soothing Nerves   After a few months of strong data, today’s payroll numbers will offer central banks a touch of relief.   By the numbers:   The US added 175k jobs versus expectations of 240k. Unemployment rose one notch to 3.9% versus a consensus of 3.8%. Wage growth […]

Notes From the Desk – FOMC Meeting: Steady as She Goes   Today’s FOMC meeting was as expected.  The Federal Reserve (Fed) kept rates unchanged while announcing well-telegraphed changes to Quantitative Tightening (QT). The key points:   The Fed believes that it will take longer to reach the confidence that inflation will drop to 2%. […]

Notes From the Desk – Tracking Trends: CAD CPI on the Downward Path   Governor Macklem and Co. are going to be pleased with the March CPI data. By the numbers:   Headline CPI 2.9% (2.9% expected) CPI Median 2.8% (3% expected) CPI Trim  3.1% (3.2% expected)   Implications. At their last meeting, the Bank […]

Notes From The Desk: Two For One Special – US Inflation & The BoC   US Inflation. US CPI came in hotter than expected for the third month in a row.   Headline inflation printed at 3.5% (vs. 3.4% expected). Core inflation came in at 3.8% (vs. 3.7% expected). Today’s data does not signal the […]

Notes From the Desk- North American Employment Data – Central Bank Conundrum   Today’s employment data does not make steering monetary policy any easier for the Federal Reserve (Fed) or Bank of Canada (BoC).  The US economy continues to produce plenty of jobs without upward wage pressure, while Canada produced no jobs, but wages continue […]