Inflating Inflation Inflation numbers keep setting the wrong kinds of records. Last week’s inflation data showed consumer prices rose 7.0% over the past year, the largest 12-month gain since June 1982. Core inflation — which doesn’t include food and energy — rose 5.5%, the most since 1991, while core producer prices were up 9.7% year…

New year, old problems — and same solutions The first trading week of 2022 was not a good one. The initial few days were pretty good as we returned to work after the holidays, with markets posting new record highs. Then Wednesday rolled around and the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its final meeting…

One more gift in Santa’s bag A “Santa Claus rally” pushed the S&P 500 to another record high last week. Waning fears over the omicron variant appeared to spur the increase, even as daily COVID cases hit their own record high. So far, it seems hospitalization rates remain contained, and the CDC reduced the recommended…

Making market spirits bright Last week, domestic markets bounced back after studies showed the new omicron variant might not be as severe or disruptive as previously feared. After sliding the previous week, markets carried the downward momentum into Monday, and the S&P 500 marked its first three-day losing streak sinceMay. Continuing concerns around omicron and…

Fed finally makes a move. Is it enough? At its last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of 2021, the Federal Reserve finally said what we’ve all been feeling and took some action. Initially, the Fed announced it would begin tapering its $120 billion per month in bond purchases by $15 billion. It was also…

Markets shake off omicron and look to the Fed After selling off the week prior, markets decided the omicron variant likely is not something that will bring us back to the same places we were in initially with the coronavirus or delta variant. News of no new widespread restrictions, mandates or lockdowns was enough to…

Omicron smacks markets around As we emerged from the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the large stock market drop on Black Friday was fresh in investors’ minds. Black Friday weekend shopping readings offered little optimism as they were still well below pre-pandemic levels. Consumers seem to have front-loaded purchases in response to supply chain concerns. Markets rallied…

Out of Africa As far as movies go, the phrase “Out of Africa” is fantastic. But when related to a new and more dominant mutated strain of coronavirus? Not so much. News of the Omicron variant led to European Union countries and Israel curtailing travel from southern Africa. U.S. markets got spooked, with the Dow…

Vaccine mandate on hold The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced last week it would be suspending enforcement of the administration’s vaccine mandate for firms with 100 or more employees. The mandate — hailed by some as an effective tool to get more people vaccinated and by others as unconstitutional — is now in…

Consumers are priced out The headline pretty much says it all: “Latest inflation reading hits highest level in three decades.” Last week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed that prices jumped 6.2% between October 2020 andOctober 2021, outpacing expectations of a 5.9% increase. Consumers are definitely taking notice; the largest increases since the September report…