JOLTS

Another Bad JOLTS For Job Market

Oct 1, 2025 3 min read paid

The S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY) closed today at 666 (chart). I have fond memories of that number. I wrote on March 16, 2009: "We’ve been to Hades and back. The S&P 500 bottomed last week on March 6 at an intraday low of 666. This is a number commonly associated with the Devil. . . . The latest relief rally was sparked by lots of good

Ed Yardeni

Stock Market Oblivious To Weak Economic Data

Sep 3, 2025 3 min read

The S&P 500 rose today despite a batch of weak economic indicators over the past two days. Investors perceive that bad news is good news if it increases the chances of a Fed rate cut on September 17. Indeed, the odds of that happening are now 97.6%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. That's a sure thing. We've been at 40% and are

Ed Yardeni

Let The Games Begin!

Jul 29, 2025 3 min read paid

Tomorrow will be action-packed. Wednesday morning, the US Treasury will issue its Quarterly Refunding Statement detailing how it intends to finance $1.0 trillion in marketable securities during Q3. The question is whether Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will rely more on doing so in the Treasury bill market, as recently suggested by President Donald Trump. Tomorrow afternoon, the FOMC will issue a press release at 2:00 p.m., most

Ed Yardeni

Animal Spirits Boosting Capex Plans

Feb 4, 2025 2 min read paid

Google-parent Alphabet’s stock sank 7% after the closing bell today following its Q1 earnings report. That was partly because the company announced much higher 2025 capital expenditures than analysts anticipated. After spending $14.28 billion on CapEx in Q4-2024 (above the consensus estimate of $13.26 billion), Alphabet will spend $75 billion on CapEx during 2025, said CEO Sundar Pichai, mostly on building out its AI-related businesses. That'

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Bond Vigilantes Put 5% Yield In Crosshairs

Jan 7, 2025 3 min read paid

The US economy continues to roar. December's ISM purchasing managers survey showed that services activity remains strong. The JOLTS data, albeit a bit stale from November, showed job openings jumped. That aligned with the recent rise in measures of business and consumer confidence. So why did stocks turn lower today? The answer lies with the bond market. The prices-paid index in the ISM nonmanufacturing PMI jumped from 58.

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

US Jobs Market: Onwards & Upwards

Dec 3, 2024 2 min read paid

We've contended all year that the labor market was normalizing from the unsustainable pace of hiring during the pandemic. We disagreed with the view that it was weakening. Now we are turning more upbeat about the outlook for employment. Our bet is that the animal spirits unleased by Trump 2.0 will soon be reflected in more job openings and a faster pace of hiring. Today's

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Help Still Wanted

Oct 29, 2024 2 min read paid

We don't expect to be disappointed by October's payroll employment report on Friday. Both September's JOLTS report and October's consumer confidence survey suggest that the labor market remains in good shape. Better yet, it may be improving. The impact of bad weather and strike-related layoffs will make a dent in October's payroll employment number, but that doesn't mean

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

US Economy Passing Tests With Flying Colors

Oct 3, 2024 3 min read paid

While everyone in our business breathlessly awaits tomorrow's payroll employment report, the economy passed the brunt of this week's labor market tests with flying colors. Of course, the labor market is showing signs of easing. But that's mostly compared to the record tightness seen a couple years ago. We think the labor market is normalizing. Meanwhile, the economy continues to prove stronger than many

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Stock Market Flinches On Widening Middle East War

Oct 1, 2024 3 min read paid

Stock prices and bond yields dipped while oil prices jumped this morning. In Washington, a senior White House official said the US is actively preparing to defend Israel against another direct missile attack by Iran. The official added that such an attack would carry severe consequences for Iran, which is under pressure to retaliate for recent Israeli military actions against Hezbollah, its proxy in Lebanon. The markets' initial reactions

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

September Has Been A Busy Month So Far

Sep 4, 2024 3 min read paid

During the first two trading days of September, stock prices, oil prices, and bond yields fell sharply; the Department of Justice (DOJ) subpoenaed Nvidia in its antitrust probe; Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda reaffirmed his hawkish monetary policy stance; US job openings were lower-than-expected; and, the US Treasury yield curve pancaked. Furthermore, the Fed's Beige Book reported that nine out of 12 Federal Reserve regional districts

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Fed Put Jolts Stocks To New Record High

Jul 2, 2024 2 min read paid

The S&P 500 jumped to a new record high of 5509 today on better-than-expected Tesla vehicle deliveries. In addition, today’s JOLTS report showed more job openings. Nevertheless, two Fed officials suggested today that the Fed Put is back because they are worried that the Fed might cause job losses if monetary policy stays too tight for too long. Their dovish comments reinforced expectations that the Fed will

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Game Over For Birth/Death Adjustment?

Jun 11, 2024 2 min read paid

Some economists claim that recent nonfarm payroll gains are misleadingly strong and are masking the underlying weakness in the labor market. These die-hard hard-landers point to a wonky calculation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), i.e., the Birth/Death Adjustment (B/D). The B/D Adjustment attempts to account for job gains attributable to new businesses and job losses due to business closures that don't show

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

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