Misleading Strength?

Misleading Strength?

Last month, we said that the December inflation report “argued vigilance, not panic, on inflation”. And we concluded that three rate cuts in 2025 still made sense as a baseline expectation. That remained our view even in the aftermath of the hawkish December dot plot...
Misleading Payrolls Strength?

Misleading Payrolls Strength?

For anyone who was hoping to ease into the macro data releases of the new year, the December employment report certainly did not offer such opportunity. Reported job gains totaled 256k, far above the 165k consensus. Revisions to the prior two months were...
Shifting Sands in US Housing Market

Shifting Sands in US Housing Market

Amid the high mortgage rates of the past couple of years, whatever meager housing market activity still occurred was heavily concentrated in the new home segment. This was a space where builders had some leeway to tweak building specifications toward smaller footage...