As expected, the Fed left interest rates and overall monetary policy unchanged today. We have now had three straight meetings with no change in rate policy. The biggest changes from the Fed are in words and forecasts. Financial markets have changed perspective quite a bit since the last Fed meeting. Bond yields and real consumer … Continued
Job growth in November improved modestly, about as expected. Labor force participation grew, and the unemployment rate declined while wage inflation was stable at the lowest level since June 2021. The Fed’s efforts to slow the economy and a “soft landing” still looks likely. The new vehicle sales SAAR declined in November as sales into … Continued
The video below is part of a biweekly Auto Market Report series focusing on data and insights that provide a holistic view of the auto industry. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. Download this week’s presentation
Economic growth for the third quarter was revised up in the latest estimate to the strongest in almost two years. Accelerating growth in consumer spending was a major driver of the growth, but the opposite is happening in the fourth quarter. Consumer spending grew in October but at a decelerated pace. The savings rate increased … Continued
The video below is part of a biweekly Auto Market Report series focusing on data and insights that provide a holistic view of the auto industry. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. Download this week’s presentation
Inflation cooled more than expected in October as most metrics based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) data saw slower paces of increase from September and year over year. Retail sales declined in October but came in better than expected. Miscellaneous stores and motor vehicles and parts had the biggest declines for the month. Excluding autos … Continued
Used-vehicle sales slowed in October, and wholesale vehicle values resumed declining, erasing more than the small increases in the prior two months. Consumers are still leveraging credit as non-mortgage credit expanded by $9.06 billion in September, reversing some of August’s decline. Auto credit access improved again in aggregate in October across all channels and with … Continued
The video below is part of a biweekly Auto Market Report series focusing on data and insights that provide a holistic view of the auto industry. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. Download this week’s presentation
Job growth in October slowed and was weaker than expected. Prior job numbers were revised down, and the unemployment rate increased to the highest level since the beginning of 2022 while wage inflation moderated slightly. The labor market is showing the impact of the Fed’s efforts to slow the economy. Financial markets cheered the result … Continued
As expected, the Fed left interest rates unchanged today, at least as it relates to official short-term rate policy. We have now had two meetings with no change in rate policy, yet rates keep rising. The Fed is getting more restrictive higher rates while pretending to be patient. Despite no change in their policy, the … Continued
