Consumers prioritize food and personal care items. For a second consecutive month, total retail sales dropped; however, a pair of necessity-based categories continued to record gains. In March, health and personal care shops registered a third consecutive month of growth, with sales rising 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, grocery store purchasing increased slightly amid a decline in food at home inflation. The divergence between these two segments’ performance and overall retail spending indicates…

Construction starts hindered. A tight labor market, strong wage growth, and elevated costs for food, services and housing have all contributed to keeping overall inflation elevated. The Fed has responded to this by hiking interest rates. As of late March, the overnight lending rate was at 4.75 percent, the highest level since December 2007. Also, despite a retreat in…

Risk of Banking Sector Disruption Driven by Commercial Real Estate Defaults Remains Low Following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, concerns have arisen around small banks holding high concentrations of commercial real estate debt. Outside of a few challenged segments, however, commercial assets have generally performed well. Much of the small bank CRE debt is also not set to mature this year. These factors temper risks of a banking disruption stemming from… Read More

Mild mortgage rate relief brought buyers off the sidelines. Existing single-family home sales hit a 5-month high in February, correlating with a slight retreat in borrowing costs. Mortgage rates have been volatile in the opening portion of 2023, climbing after the Federal Reserve voiced a more aggressive stance, then falling again after Silicon Valley Bank’s demise and the related banking sector turmoil. The average 30-year mortgage rate is nevertheless undercutting last year’s 7 percent peak, hanging… Read More

Employers continuing to hire, but at tapering pace. The economy welcomed 236,000 new positions in March, the slowest month for job creation since a net loss in December 2020. Hiring was led by the leisure and hospitality sector, along with additions in health care, the public sector, and professional and business services. These gains offset job losses in retail trade, construction and manufacturing. Overall, while last month’s hiring is well above the long-term average, it falls… Read More

Banking shock prompts Fed to take a more measured approach. At its March 22 meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds rate for the ninth time in 12 months. The 25-basis-point hike matches the margin from February and lifts the lending rate’s lower bound to 4.75 percent. The FOMC cited still-too-high inflation and a persistently tight labor market as reasons for necessitating the increase, which is nevertheless below what was anticipated by… Read More

Job growth continues at generally swift pace. Employers added a net 311,000 personnel to payrolls in February, down from January’s robust 504,000-position gain, but still above the long-term monthly average. Hiring was likely aided by an expansion to the labor pool last month, leading to a 10-basis-point uptick in the unemployment rate to 3.6 percent. Despite this slight increase to unemployment and a slowdown in job growth, the labor market is still showing…

Consumers place an emphasis on necessities. Total retail sales dropped 0.4 percent in February. However, store-based spending — which excludes purchases made online and at restaurants and bars — reached a record mark. This contrast indicates consumers may be prioritizing the purchase of necessities when visiting brick-and-mortar retailers, a dynamic that has positive implications for…

Bank Closures Could Sway Federal Reserve Decision, Fast Government Response Alleviates Contagion Concerns The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sent shock waves through capital markets, but agencies have been quick to counter it from spreading. Expectations for a smaller interest rate hike at the upcoming FOMC meeting has meanwhile been a byproduct of the recent events. The Fed will likely tread more cautiously despite persistent inflation and resilient employment. Key Features: Timeline… Read More

Prominent tech and venture capital bank closes. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the country’s 16th-largest bank, was seized by California state regulators on Friday, March 10 and placed into FDIC receivership in the largest banking collapse since 2008. Recent troubles in the technology and cryptocurrency sectors, of which SVB was a prominent financier, led to major deposit outflows at the bank, forcing the institution to sell bond holdings before their maturity to procure cash to cover these… Read More