For the week ended 11/2/2024.
First, the good news is that the economy continued its strong stretch over the summer, powered by the critical U.S. consumer. GDP increased at a 2.8% annual rate in the third quarter. This was a slightly lower growth rate relative to the second quarter’s 3.0% and below consensus expectations of 3.1%. But hey, I’ll take this two-year streak of solid growth in the face of higher baseline interest rates.
The bad news: while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in October, job growth slowed to a crawl, with workers sidelined by hurricanes, the strike at Boeing, and the auto industry. Bottom line: Just 12,000 jobs were created last month versus 223,000 in September. The three-month average is 104,000.
The jobs focus, along with pre-election jitters, led to domestic stocks falling -1.4% last week while bonds were down -0.6%. In fact, all the primary asset classes were in the red, save good-old-fashion cash.
And with that, be sure to vote by tomorrow and then buckle your proverbial seat belts. Good morning.
Here is my interesting data point of the week. Enjoy!
Source: Visual Capitalist
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