U.S. unit labor costs rose sharply in the third quarter, while productivity declined at its fastest pace since 1960, adding to signs of persistently high inflation.
Though unemployment fell to its lowest level in nearly two years, the U.S. added back a worse-than-expected 210,000 jobs in November—indicating the labor market is still struggling to add back jobs lost during the pandemic amid the looming threat of a new coronavirus variant.
United States consumer confidence has plummeted to a decade-low in November. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 66.8 in November, down sharply from the October figure of 71.7 and well below consensus forecasts of 72.4.
The chief economic adviser for financial services firm Allianz warned that the new coronavirus variant Omicron could shake up the markets, exacerbate supply chain woes, amplify record-high inflation pressures — and possibly result in 1970s-style “stagflation.”
President Joe Biden has picked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to serve a second four-year term at the helm of the central bank, while nominating Lael Brainard, the only Democrat on the Fed’s seven-member board, to serve as second-in-command at the Fed.
What do the Federal Reserve and neoconservatives have in common? They both refuse to admit that their policies — the neocons’ promotion of perpetual war and the Fed's manipulation of the money supply — are complete failures, having produced the opposite of the promised results.
