The American economy gained 256,000 jobs last month. We need 90,000 new jobs just to keep up with population growth, which means that net job growth clocked in at 166,000 jobs. The headline unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.1%.
There were no gotchas in the December report. Employment was up and unemployment was down. It was a very solid holiday season.
See! The economy is anticipating the magic that His Felony is about to perform.
Good News!!!!
so stocks are down...
I would love someone to explain why the stock market goes down on good news in the job market. I get the concern that it will impact the Fed, making more or faster cuts in the rates less likely, keeping rates higher. But a better job market is also a sign of a better economy , yes ? And a better economy should produce better results for t he companies that comprise the markets. Shouldn't that outweigh what rates the Fed is setting ? Isn't that in the long run, the real measure for companies ?
And a better economy should produce better results for t he companies that comprise the markets. Shouldn't that outweigh what rates the Fed is setting ?
In theory, yes. However stock market valuations for the past couple of decades are not based on facts like actual earnings but on "sentiment".
We are very close to the y-intercept on that trendline. It's pretty clear that "stops" are going to outweigh "starts" in the employment statistics starting January 20th, as Trump undertakes his jihad against undocumented brown people. Many will just not show up because they've disappeared into Homan's gulag, and more will "self-deport" to avoid it.
But they won't be "available to work" as the Federal Labor boffins say.
So, as is true for any scarce essential commodity, the price to obtain the next unit available will rise. Some activities, particularly construction-related ones, may simply become too "expensive" to pursue.
You can certainly say "goodbye" to any possibility of expanded housing availability, and fresh fruits and vegetables are about to become rarer and less comestible. Tariffs will make that even worse.
The bus is being driven by a madman, and the Conductor would rather scream in your face, dear reader, than do his job.
America, welcome to Xithouse government.
I encourage plotting next time without your fitted line