Delta Variant Drags global growth
Stocks were in risk off mood in Europe to start the week, as the Stoxx Europe fell to a 7 week low. Oil fell as investors were nervous if a 4th wave could cause a new round of lock down restrictions. Investors are seemingly looking to more stimulus to get us through again. Which could be a problem because…
Wages In Focus.
The only inflation metric that the fed pays attention to is wages. It makes sense, wages rising is the biggest risk to inflation spiraling out of control. The inflation hawks worry about a spiral of higher wages lead producers to raise prices which go back to workers asking for more money. The Fed remains confident that there is no run away wage growth. Blue collar and service jobs are seeing the biggest rise in real income. The work force is changing, boomers are retiring and the labor force replacing them is increasingly more educated. Leaving many manual labor jobs left open. The lack of labor supply is a big impact on wages going up. Additionally any new infrastructure bill will also cause labor to go up.
Why the biggest job wage boom post-pandemic is blue collar (cnbc.com)
Confidence booms
Consumers are more confident about the outlook of the economy than at any point in the pandemic.
Consumer Confidence Index® | The Conference Board (conference-board.org)