Commentary Directory
- Q1 GDP Growth Jumps 1.1% on Strong Personal Consumption
- A Strong March Leads to a Surge in Chinese GDP in Q1 2023
- Durable Goods Retail Sales Suffer from High Interest Rates and Wary Consumers
- Choppy GDP Means UK Should Avoid Q1 Recession
- Japanese Consumer Confidence Jumps to Highest Level in Over a Year
- The End of Summer Sees the End of Disinflation in Europe
- Labor Market Indicators are Starting to Unify on Easing in Hiring
- Inflation and Tight Financial Conditions Weigh on the German Consumer
- Euro Area Money Supply Contracts for the First Time Since 2010
- Dismal Economic Data Out of Germany
- Core Durable Goods New Orders See Gentle Uptrend in July
- More UK Data Pointing to Q3 Decline
- Whispers of a UK Contraction in Q3
- Japan's Core Inflation Resumes Uptrend in July
- Early July Economic Data Leads to a Sharp Increase in Q3 Growth Expectations
- UK CPI: Energy Inflation Crashes but Services Inflation is Still Sticky
- China's Weak Start to Q3 Means More PBoC Easing
- Bank of Japan is Too Optimistic on Inflation
- The Bank of England Pauses in a Near Split Decision
- UK Inflation August Update: A Precursor to the Bank of England's Announcement
- Housing Starts Tumble in August Amid Rising Mortgage Rates
- US Retail Sales Grow at Fastest Monthly Rate Since the Start of the Year
- US Consumer Prices Surge in August Driven by Energy Costs
- August NFIB Survey Showed a Tough Environment for Small Businesses
- All Signs Point to a Weaker Labor Market in August
- Thoughts on GME and This Week in the Stock Market
- Record Home Price Levels Point to Strength in Post-Pandemic Economy
- The Stock Market Looks Overvalued, but It's Probably Not
- China GDP Growth Surpasses Expectations
- President-elect Joe Biden Introduces His "American Rescue Plan"
- Political Polarization Intensifies with Another Impeachment Along Party Lines
- Metal Demand Has a Bright Future in 2021 and Beyond
- What Happened to That US-China Trade Dispute?
- Civil Unrest, A Rising Threat to the 2021 Economy
- What's in the $900 Billion Relief Plan?
8th Meeting of FOMCmas
Jacob Hess
December 21, 2021
- Weekly Commentary
The Week Behind
In the 8th FOMC meeting, Chair Powell gave to us…
- -12.8% drop in consumer sentiment…
- 11 votes for tapering…
- 10 year Treasury yield rising…
- 9.6% PPI growth…
- 8.1% increase in exports…
- $70 per oil barrel…
- 6.8% inflation…
- 5.0% PCE price index…
- 4.8% wage growth…
- 3 rate hikes next year (projected)…
- 2.2 million long-term unemployed…
- And a hot, post-pandemic economy…
Merry Christmas!
Chart of the Week

The Federal Reserve has been busy decorating for Christmas with their dot plot projections. Several FOMC members are expecting to see multiple rate hikes in 2022.
The Week Ahead
We hope everyone has a safe and relaxing holiday week and Christmas. The 2022 outlook may be clouded by inflation uncertainty and supply chain crises, but a continuation of the recovery is likely.