The Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of full employment and price stability was once again tested with today’s release of labor and producer price data. On the labor front, investors were anxious to see whether this week’s U.S. unemployment claims could live up even to lowered expectations in the wake of last week’s disastrous NFP results. While clearly not as important as the government’s data on new private sector jobs, continuing and initial jobless claims speak to the problems inherent in the U.S. labor sector. That could provide more impetus for the Federal Reserve to act to stimulate the economy and with it, the jobs situation. Read more
