Money versus Monetary Policy

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced on February 13 that its forces bombed a small boat in the Caribbean Sea, marking the fourth US strike this year against small vessels allegedly running drugs in the waters of Latin America. The command didn’t offer any evidence to back up its claim that the boat was running drugs, […]

Jobless Claims Hover Near Record Lows Sustaining 'No Hire, No Fire' Narrative The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time was flat from the prior week at 210.5k (215k exp). Simply put, these numbers are hovering near their lowest levels since 1969... Source: Bloomberg Continuing claims also printed below expectations at 1.819 million Americans. This is the lowest level since May 2024... Source: Bloomberg Finally, as a reminder, sentiment surveys suggest the labor market is bifurcated with 'jobs hard to get' but joblessness not surging... Source: Bloomberg That chart reinforces the 'no...

US Industrial Production Rises For 4th Straight Month In February After a strong gain in January, US Industrial Production continued to expand in February, rising 0.2% MoM (better than expected +0.1%) - the fourth straight month of gains with Production up 1.44% YoY... Source: Bloomberg Manufacturing output also beat expectations, rising 0.2% MoM in February. Durable manufacturing output edged up 0.1 percent, with mixed results across categories; the index for motor vehicles and parts posted the largest gain, and the index for machinery posted the largest loss. Nondurable manufacturing output rose 0.2 percent, with...