Capitalism, The Fed and Economic Policy

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mickeyrat said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Usually by now we have a lot of public works coming out to bid, there aren't.  Private isn't looking that great either.  The prison industry is booming again though.  My former employee has been trying to get me back because they have a serious backlog.

So yes, I would lean towards a recession coming.

I heard on the news this morning that in some areas unemployment rate on construction is less than 1%.  You aren't seeing anything close to that?

We have more than that here in NYC.  There are a few projects coming up but the benches are getting full at the hall and Furlough for the Electricians is going to be a year perhaps.

These things usually happen in the big cities first then trickle out.

not in ohio. osu doesnt stop building. intel plant.  adbook and google and amazon cloud farms.  thats just central ohio.

NYC technically doesn't "stop building" either but there are slow downs.  Hell, JFK, MTA and LaGuardia have all been under construction for the past 12 years I've been here.  Even with these projects going on there are slowdowns.  The smaller projects that are non union start to pile up quick with unemployment.

Texas will have a boom but it's not for another 2 years or so with the chip plants.

Hearing that Ohio keeps building is interesting. Not everyone can eat off of OSUs plate though.

Samsung is well underway with one of their biggest chip plants that is going up in Taylor just outside of Austin,  They are having trouble finding skilled contractors because of all the other chip plants going up around the US. I am now out of the loop as I left that industry behind, but I am pretty sure there are some other huge projects going on with TI in Dallas among others,  I can't imagine a bigger boom, there would literally be no people to work because the industry is stretched thin as it is at least construction/inspection side.

I haven't followed up on what's going on with the plant but yes it's a big deal but again, NY isn't benefitting from that tech boom.  I will tell you this, Austin wouldn't have been my first choice for that plant.  That area is very heavily congested now.  It's crazy how populated it got.

That all started from Dell I think?

From what I read on the chip plants only 1 was going to be a superconductor plant where any of the others were not as big?  And Intel was going to be building new chip plants also.

It would be nice if we started making the batteries for Ev cars too.

These chip plants aren't scheduled to be up and running for a few more years I think?

mrussel1 said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mickeyrat said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Usually by now we have a lot of public works coming out to bid, there aren't.  Private isn't looking that great either.  The prison industry is booming again though.  My former employee has been trying to get me back because they have a serious backlog.

So yes, I would lean towards a recession coming.

I heard on the news this morning that in some areas unemployment rate on construction is less than 1%.  You aren't seeing anything close to that?

We have more than that here in NYC.  There are a few projects coming up but the benches are getting full at the hall and Furlough for the Electricians is going to be a year perhaps.

These things usually happen in the big cities first then trickle out.

not in ohio. osu doesnt stop building. intel plant.  adbook and google and amazon cloud farms.  thats just central ohio.

NYC technically doesn't "stop building" either but there are slow downs.  Hell, JFK, MTA and LaGuardia have all been under construction for the past 12 years I've been here.  Even with these projects going on there are slowdowns.  The smaller projects that are non union start to pile up quick with unemployment.

Texas will have a boom but it's not for another 2 years or so with the chip plants.

Hearing that Ohio keeps building is interesting. Not everyone can eat off of OSUs plate though.

Samsung is well underway with one of their biggest chip plants that is going up in Taylor just outside of Austin,  They are having trouble finding skilled contractors because of all the other chip plants going up around the US. I am now out of the loop as I left that industry behind, but I am pretty sure there are some other huge projects going on with TI in Dallas among others,  I can't imagine a bigger boom, there would literally be no people to work because the industry is stretched thin as it is at least construction/inspection side.

I haven't followed up on what's going on with the plant but yes it's a big deal but again, NY isn't benefitting from that tech boom.  I will tell you this, Austin wouldn't have been my first choice for that plant.  That area is very heavily congested now.  It's crazy how populated it got.

That all started from Dell I think?

From what I read on the chip plants only 1 was going to be a superconductor plant where any of the others were not as big?  And Intel was going to be building new chip plants also.

It would be nice if we started making the batteries for Ev cars too.

These chip plants aren't scheduled to be up and running for a few more years I think?

Projects that I knew about before CHIPS act were Intel expansion in Phoenix, Intel expansion in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Taiwan semi conductor in or around Phoenix, The gigantic Samsung expansion here in Austin and the big expansion of TI up in Dallas.  I'm sue they will figure out a way to get chips funds even though the projects were started before chips was announced.  The problem remains there is a lack of skilled workers and inspection teams for all these new plants.  I am so glad to be out of the business.  It is a big polluter, water hog, resource hog, and I am almost certain that part of the chips functioning so well is the little pieces of soul that it steals from the workers at the plants.

Just before I left it was discovered that Samsung leaked something like 700,000 gallons of Hydrocloric Acid wastewater into the surrounding creeks...a few weeks after that they were given a clean water award.  

it's really a double edged sword.  You need chips, but you're right on the damage.  But at the same time, being reliant on Asia is a strategic risk to our security.  Sometimes there are no good solutions. 

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mickeyrat said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Usually by now we have a lot of public works coming out to bid, there aren't.  Private isn't looking that great either.  The prison industry is booming again though.  My former employee has been trying to get me back because they have a serious backlog.

So yes, I would lean towards a recession coming.

I heard on the news this morning that in some areas unemployment rate on construction is less than 1%.  You aren't seeing anything close to that?

We have more than that here in NYC.  There are a few projects coming up but the benches are getting full at the hall and Furlough for the Electricians is going to be a year perhaps.

These things usually happen in the big cities first then trickle out.

not in ohio. osu doesnt stop building. intel plant.  adbook and google and amazon cloud farms.  thats just central ohio.

NYC technically doesn't "stop building" either but there are slow downs.  Hell, JFK, MTA and LaGuardia have all been under construction for the past 12 years I've been here.  Even with these projects going on there are slowdowns.  The smaller projects that are non union start to pile up quick with unemployment.

Texas will have a boom but it's not for another 2 years or so with the chip plants.

Hearing that Ohio keeps building is interesting. Not everyone can eat off of OSUs plate though.

Samsung is well underway with one of their biggest chip plants that is going up in Taylor just outside of Austin,  They are having trouble finding skilled contractors because of all the other chip plants going up around the US. I am now out of the loop as I left that industry behind, but I am pretty sure there are some other huge projects going on with TI in Dallas among others,  I can't imagine a bigger boom, there would literally be no people to work because the industry is stretched thin as it is at least construction/inspection side.

I haven't followed up on what's going on with the plant but yes it's a big deal but again, NY isn't benefitting from that tech boom.  I will tell you this, Austin wouldn't have been my first choice for that plant.  That area is very heavily congested now.  It's crazy how populated it got.

That all started from Dell I think?

From what I read on the chip plants only 1 was going to be a superconductor plant where any of the others were not as big?  And Intel was going to be building new chip plants also.

It would be nice if we started making the batteries for Ev cars too.

These chip plants aren't scheduled to be up and running for a few more years I think?

Projects that I knew about before CHIPS act were Intel expansion in Phoenix, Intel expansion in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Taiwan semi conductor in or around Phoenix, The gigantic Samsung expansion here in Austin and the big expansion of TI up in Dallas.  I'm sue they will figure out a way to get chips funds even though the projects were started before chips was announced.  The problem remains there is a lack of skilled workers and inspection teams for all these new plants.  I am so glad to be out of the business.  It is a big polluter, water hog, resource hog, and I am almost certain that part of the chips functioning so well is the little pieces of soul that it steals from the workers at the plants.

Just before I left it was discovered that Samsung leaked something like 700,000 gallons of Hydrocloric Acid wastewater into the surrounding creeks...a few weeks after that they were given a clean water award.  

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mickeyrat said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Usually by now we have a lot of public works coming out to bid, there aren't.  Private isn't looking that great either.  The prison industry is booming again though.  My former employee has been trying to get me back because they have a serious backlog.

So yes, I would lean towards a recession coming.

I heard on the news this morning that in some areas unemployment rate on construction is less than 1%.  You aren't seeing anything close to that?

We have more than that here in NYC.  There are a few projects coming up but the benches are getting full at the hall and Furlough for the Electricians is going to be a year perhaps.

These things usually happen in the big cities first then trickle out.

not in ohio. osu doesnt stop building. intel plant.  adbook and google and amazon cloud farms.  thats just central ohio.

NYC technically doesn't "stop building" either but there are slow downs.  Hell, JFK, MTA and LaGuardia have all been under construction for the past 12 years I've been here.  Even with these projects going on there are slowdowns.  The smaller projects that are non union start to pile up quick with unemployment.

Texas will have a boom but it's not for another 2 years or so with the chip plants.

Hearing that Ohio keeps building is interesting. Not everyone can eat off of OSUs plate though.

Samsung is well underway with one of their biggest chip plants that is going up in Taylor just outside of Austin,  They are having trouble finding skilled contractors because of all the other chip plants going up around the US. I am now out of the loop as I left that industry behind, but I am pretty sure there are some other huge projects going on with TI in Dallas among others,  I can't imagine a bigger boom, there would literally be no people to work because the industry is stretched thin as it is at least construction/inspection side.

I haven't followed up on what's going on with the plant but yes it's a big deal but again, NY isn't benefitting from that tech boom.  I will tell you this, Austin wouldn't have been my first choice for that plant.  That area is very heavily congested now.  It's crazy how populated it got.

That all started from Dell I think?

From what I read on the chip plants only 1 was going to be a superconductor plant where any of the others were not as big?  And Intel was going to be building new chip plants also.

It would be nice if we started making the batteries for Ev cars too.

These chip plants aren't scheduled to be up and running for a few more years I think?

Projects that I knew about before CHIPS act were Intel expansion in Phoenix, Intel expansion in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Taiwan semi conductor in or around Phoenix, The gigantic Samsung expansion here in Austin and the big expansion of TI up in Dallas.  I'm sue they will figure out a way to get chips funds even though the projects were started before chips was announced.  The problem remains there is a lack of skilled workers and inspection teams for all these new plants.  I am so glad to be out of the business.  It is a big polluter, water hog, resource hog, and I am almost certain that part of the chips functioning so well is the little pieces of soul that it steals from the workers at the plants.

Just before I left it was discovered that Samsung leaked something like 700,000 gallons of Hydrocloric Acid wastewater into the surrounding creeks...a few weeks after that they were given a clean water award.  

There were THAT many start ups?  Fax posted an article that claims everyone of those are getting in on the CHIPS act.

I can see not having the labor for it.  It's a big expansion to have that many plants going up at once.  I would expect the US to give out a bunch of tech visas to encourage people to come.

Something else I would like to see is reclaiming of water from these plants.

One of these being built in NY is very odd as we don't allow certain mass polluting factories here because our laws are so strict.

How does one leak 700,ooo gallons of Hydrocloric acid into the ground?  That's an olympic sized swimming pool of an amount?

So, that job is soul sucking huh?  That's a shame considering half a mill or more will be a part of that industry here in the next 5 years.

static111 said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mickeyrat said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Usually by now we have a lot of public works coming out to bid, there aren't.  Private isn't looking that great either.  The prison industry is booming again though.  My former employee has been trying to get me back because they have a serious backlog.

So yes, I would lean towards a recession coming.

I heard on the news this morning that in some areas unemployment rate on construction is less than 1%.  You aren't seeing anything close to that?

We have more than that here in NYC.  There are a few projects coming up but the benches are getting full at the hall and Furlough for the Electricians is going to be a year perhaps.

These things usually happen in the big cities first then trickle out.

not in ohio. osu doesnt stop building. intel plant.  adbook and google and amazon cloud farms.  thats just central ohio.

NYC technically doesn't "stop building" either but there are slow downs.  Hell, JFK, MTA and LaGuardia have all been under construction for the past 12 years I've been here.  Even with these projects going on there are slowdowns.  The smaller projects that are non union start to pile up quick with unemployment.

Texas will have a boom but it's not for another 2 years or so with the chip plants.

Hearing that Ohio keeps building is interesting. Not everyone can eat off of OSUs plate though.

Samsung is well underway with one of their biggest chip plants that is going up in Taylor just outside of Austin,  They are having trouble finding skilled contractors because of all the other chip plants going up around the US. I am now out of the loop as I left that industry behind, but I am pretty sure there are some other huge projects going on with TI in Dallas among others,  I can't imagine a bigger boom, there would literally be no people to work because the industry is stretched thin as it is at least construction/inspection side.

I haven't followed up on what's going on with the plant but yes it's a big deal but again, NY isn't benefitting from that tech boom.  I will tell you this, Austin wouldn't have been my first choice for that plant.  That area is very heavily congested now.  It's crazy how populated it got.

That all started from Dell I think?

From what I read on the chip plants only 1 was going to be a superconductor plant where any of the others were not as big?  And Intel was going to be building new chip plants also.

It would be nice if we started making the batteries for Ev cars too.

These chip plants aren't scheduled to be up and running for a few more years I think?

Projects that I knew about before CHIPS act were Intel expansion in Phoenix, Intel expansion in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Taiwan semi conductor in or around Phoenix, The gigantic Samsung expansion here in Austin and the big expansion of TI up in Dallas.  I'm sue they will figure out a way to get chips funds even though the projects were started before chips was announced.  The problem remains there is a lack of skilled workers and inspection teams for all these new plants.  I am so glad to be out of the business.  It is a big polluter, water hog, resource hog, and I am almost certain that part of the chips functioning so well is the little pieces of soul that it steals from the workers at the plants.

Just before I left it was discovered that Samsung leaked something like 700,000 gallons of Hydrocloric Acid wastewater into the surrounding creeks...a few weeks after that they were given a clean water award.  

There were THAT many start ups?  Fax posted an article that claims everyone of those are getting in on the CHIPS act.

I can see not having the labor for it.  It's a big expansion to have that many plants going up at once.  I would expect the US to give out a bunch of tech visas to encourage people to come.

Something else I would like to see is reclaiming of water from these plants.

One of these being built in NY is very odd as we don't allow certain mass polluting factories here because our laws are so strict.

How does one leak 700,ooo gallons of Hydrocloric acid into the ground?  That's an olympic sized swimming pool of an amount?

So, that job is soul sucking huh?  That's a shame considering half a mill or more will be a part of that industry here in the next 5 years.

Read the reporting from the White House link. $500M provided in NY for job training. Owner of company for Syracuse plant pledges a zero waste, green effort, using wind/hydro generated electricity, among other initiatives. Will he get there? Remains to be seen but they’ll try. The other plants listed were for comparison purposes, I think, but of course they’ll try to glom on to any subsidies. No surprise there.

Hell, Tejas doesn’t care if a fertilizer storage facility explodes and kills people in the apartment building next door. Their legislature passes a bill to criminalize making said locations public a crime and for real estate agents to disclose proximity to said warehouses also a crime. That’s how you protect the public. What’s a few gallons of acid in a creek?

Yet those big corporations keep doing business in Texas. it's almost like a lack of regulations is exactly what they are after and that their green eco friendly arms are just mere PR.

static111 said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

static111 said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

static111 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mickeyrat said:

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Usually by now we have a lot of public works coming out to bid, there aren't.  Private isn't looking that great either.  The prison industry is booming again though.  My former employee has been trying to get me back because they have a serious backlog.

So yes, I would lean towards a recession coming.

I heard on the news this morning that in some areas unemployment rate on construction is less than 1%.  You aren't seeing anything close to that?

We have more than that here in NYC.  There are a few projects coming up but the benches are getting full at the hall and Furlough for the Electricians is going to be a year perhaps.

These things usually happen in the big cities first then trickle out.

not in ohio. osu doesnt stop building. intel plant.  adbook and google and amazon cloud farms.  thats just central ohio.

NYC technically doesn't "stop building" either but there are slow downs.  Hell, JFK, MTA and LaGuardia have all been under construction for the past 12 years I've been here.  Even with these projects going on there are slowdowns.  The smaller projects that are non union start to pile up quick with unemployment.

Texas will have a boom but it's not for another 2 years or so with the chip plants.

Hearing that Ohio keeps building is interesting. Not everyone can eat off of OSUs plate though.

Samsung is well underway with one of their biggest chip plants that is going up in Taylor just outside of Austin,  They are having trouble finding skilled contractors because of all the other chip plants going up around the US. I am now out of the loop as I left that industry behind, but I am pretty sure there are some other huge projects going on with TI in Dallas among others,  I can't imagine a bigger boom, there would literally be no people to work because the industry is stretched thin as it is at least construction/inspection side.

I haven't followed up on what's going on with the plant but yes it's a big deal but again, NY isn't benefitting from that tech boom.  I will tell you this, Austin wouldn't have been my first choice for that plant.  That area is very heavily congested now.  It's crazy how populated it got.

That all started from Dell I think?

From what I read on the chip plants only 1 was going to be a superconductor plant where any of the others were not as big?  And Intel was going to be building new chip plants also.

It would be nice if we started making the batteries for Ev cars too.

These chip plants aren't scheduled to be up and running for a few more years I think?

Projects that I knew about before CHIPS act were Intel expansion in Phoenix, Intel expansion in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Taiwan semi conductor in or around Phoenix, The gigantic Samsung expansion here in Austin and the big expansion of TI up in Dallas.  I'm sue they will figure out a way to get chips funds even though the projects were started before chips was announced.  The problem remains there is a lack of skilled workers and inspection teams for all these new plants.  I am so glad to be out of the business.  It is a big polluter, water hog, resource hog, and I am almost certain that part of the chips functioning so well is the little pieces of soul that it steals from the workers at the plants.

Just before I left it was discovered that Samsung leaked something like 700,000 gallons of Hydrocloric Acid wastewater into the surrounding creeks...a few weeks after that they were given a clean water award.  

There were THAT many start ups?  Fax posted an article that claims everyone of those are getting in on the CHIPS act.

I can see not having the labor for it.  It's a big expansion to have that many plants going up at once.  I would expect the US to give out a bunch of tech visas to encourage people to come.

Something else I would like to see is reclaiming of water from these plants.

One of these being built in NY is very odd as we don't allow certain mass polluting factories here because our laws are so strict.

How does one leak 700,ooo gallons of Hydrocloric acid into the ground?  That's an olympic sized swimming pool of an amount?

So, that job is soul sucking huh?  That's a shame considering half a mill or more will be a part of that industry here in the next 5 years.

Read the reporting from the White House link. $500M provided in NY for job training. Owner of company for Syracuse plant pledges a zero waste, green effort, using wind/hydro generated electricity, among other initiatives. Will he get there? Remains to be seen but they’ll try. The other plants listed were for comparison purposes, I think, but of course they’ll try to glom on to any subsidies. No surprise there.

Hell, Tejas doesn’t care if a fertilizer storage facility explodes and kills people in the apartment building next door. Their legislature passes a bill to criminalize making said locations public a crime and for real estate agents to disclose proximity to said warehouses also a crime. That’s how you protect the public. What’s a few gallons of acid in a creek?

Yet those big corporations keep doing business in Texas. it's almost like a lack of regulations is exactly what they are after and that their green eco friendly arms are just mere PR.

Of course that’s what they want. But the onus should be on Tejas and other red states that race to the bottom to encourage corporate responsibility. NY is incentivizing doing the right thing or attempting to by offering “green” tax and other financial incentives. And one company is going to try to take advantage of it. Compromise, like how politics is supposed to work and not zero sum.

Austin is one of the "bluest" cities in the country and yet still they put blinders on when it comes to Samsung and some of the other big companies breaking the rules.  Green credits are about as useful and transparent as carbon offset credits.  Any amount of legal maneuvering can make it look like you have a green friendly "public private partnership" when the reality is much different, regardless of the alleged color of your government.  

If the compromise is, we will fuck the earth or we will fuck the earth but cover it with some feel good green PR is that really compromise though? 

mickeyrat said:

https://apnews.com/article/jobless-claims-unemployment-benefits-labor-layoffs-95167298da7cfac193eb8eb8c5f609b0

 

Inflation Federal Reserve System

Applications for jobless claims fall for 3rd straight week

By MATT OTT

29 mins ago

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell for third straight week. That's good news for American workers, but potentially bad news in the fight against inflation by the Federal Reserve, which has been ratcheting up its benchmark interest rate for a year in an effort to cool the economy, loosen the labor market and tame inflation.

Applications for jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending February 25 fell to 190,000 from 192,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. It’s the seventh straight week claims were under 200,000.

The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 1,750 to 193,000, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the sixth straight week.

Applications for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for the number layoffs in the U.S.

In February, the Fed raised its main lending rate by 25 basis points, its eighth rate hike in less than a year. The central bank’s benchmark rate is now in a range of 4.5% to 4.75%, its highest level in 15 years.

The Fed’s hawkish interest rate policy appeared to be slowing inflation, but recent data has suggested otherwise. Some economists now expect the Fed to raise its benchmark rate by a substantial half-percentage point when it meets later this month.

---

INFLATION

Macy's Q4 sales, profit, outlook, impress in rough terrain

US futures mixed as more signs of inflation fuel rate fears

Europe inflation eases slightly but consumer pain persists

Egypt raises price of gasoline in latest hike amid inflation

The Fed’s rate hikes have done little to cool a red-hot U.S. job market, which has put upward pressure on wages, and as a result, prices.

Last month, the government reported that employers added a better-than-expected 517,000 jobs in January and that the unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%, the lowest level since 1969. Fed policymakers have forecast that the unemployment rate would rise to 4.6% by the end of this year, a sizable increase historically associated with recessions.

Though the U.S. labor market remains strong, layoffs have been mounting in the technology sector, where many companies overhired after a pandemic boom. IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Facebook parent Meta, Twitter and DoorDash have all announced layoffs in recent months.

The real estate sector has also been battered by the Fed’s interest rate hikes. Higher mortgage rates — currently above 6% — have slowed home sales for 12 straight months. That’s almost in lockstep with the Fed’s rate hikes that began last March.

About 1.66 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended Feb. 18, a decrease of 5,000 from the week before.

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

mickeyrat said:

https://apnews.com/article/jobless-claims-unemployment-benefits-labor-layoffs-95167298da7cfac193eb8eb8c5f609b0

 

Inflation Federal Reserve System

Applications for jobless claims fall for 3rd straight week

By MATT OTT

29 mins ago

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell for third straight week. That's good news for American workers, but potentially bad news in the fight against inflation by the Federal Reserve, which has been ratcheting up its benchmark interest rate for a year in an effort to cool the economy, loosen the labor market and tame inflation.

Applications for jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending February 25 fell to 190,000 from 192,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. It’s the seventh straight week claims were under 200,000.

The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 1,750 to 193,000, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the sixth straight week.

Applications for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for the number layoffs in the U.S.

In February, the Fed raised its main lending rate by 25 basis points, its eighth rate hike in less than a year. The central bank’s benchmark rate is now in a range of 4.5% to 4.75%, its highest level in 15 years.

The Fed’s hawkish interest rate policy appeared to be slowing inflation, but recent data has suggested otherwise. Some economists now expect the Fed to raise its benchmark rate by a substantial half-percentage point when it meets later this month.

---

INFLATION

Macy's Q4 sales, profit, outlook, impress in rough terrain

US futures mixed as more signs of inflation fuel rate fears

Europe inflation eases slightly but consumer pain persists

Egypt raises price of gasoline in latest hike amid inflation

The Fed’s rate hikes have done little to cool a red-hot U.S. job market, which has put upward pressure on wages, and as a result, prices.

Last month, the government reported that employers added a better-than-expected 517,000 jobs in January and that the unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%, the lowest level since 1969. Fed policymakers have forecast that the unemployment rate would rise to 4.6% by the end of this year, a sizable increase historically associated with recessions.

Though the U.S. labor market remains strong, layoffs have been mounting in the technology sector, where many companies overhired after a pandemic boom. IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Facebook parent Meta, Twitter and DoorDash have all announced layoffs in recent months.

The real estate sector has also been battered by the Fed’s interest rate hikes. Higher mortgage rates — currently above 6% — have slowed home sales for 12 straight months. That’s almost in lockstep with the Fed’s rate hikes that began last March.

About 1.66 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended Feb. 18, a decrease of 5,000 from the week before.

I'm in financial services and everything is tightening up.  Companies are pulling postings.  Fintechs are laying people off in droves and cutting back their forecasts.  The biggest white collar employer in my area is Capita One, and they slashed their entire Six Sigma/Lean resources, which is about 1500 people.  The market is now flooded with them.  I'm not arguing with this data, I'm just seeing softness in white collar jobs right now.  

If they get a severance do they have to wait to apply for benefits?

Also, all this means is no one can afford a damn house unless you have half the damn downpayment.  If I want a house in my area it's average of $657,000.  Yep, that's right.  Keep raising these rates and only rich are affording them...  Or I need a substantial raise.