Monday Morning Meeting Notes (07/10/2023)

General Info:

• The U.S. employment report showed 209,000 new jobs added in June, which is a strong month but was below economist expectations of 225,000 new jobs
• The unemployment rate, as expected, dropped from 3.7% to 3.6%
• Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% month-over-month and 4.4% year-over-year
• Despite the previous two months’ reports being revised lower by a combined 110,000 jobs, the June report showed that the U.S. labor market remained strong
• The three-month average is 244,000 new jobs added per month, and the U.S. labor market has experienced 30 consecutive months of at least 200,000 jobs created
• The labor force participation rate for “prime age workers” (ages 25-54) rose to 83.5%, the highest level since 2002
• Fun Fact: The last letter added to the English alphabet was “J”. The letter dates back to 1524, and before that the letter “I” was used for both the “I” and “J” sounds. Gian Giorgio Trissino, an Italian grammarian, made the distinction between the two sounds and is known as the father of the letter ”J”.

Monday 07/10:

• China consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) data for June
• U.S. wholesale inventories

Tuesday 07/11:

• Happy 7-Eleven Day to all those Slurpee afficionados who celebrate
• U.S. NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for June
• U.K. reports jobless claims and unemployment data
• Germany CPI for June

Wednesday 07/12:

• U.S. CPI data for June, which is expected to show a slowdown in the year-over-year pace primarily due to a decline in energy costs
• CPI is expected to have increased 0.3% month-over-month and 3.1% year-over-year
• Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, is expected to have increased 0.3% month-over-month and 5.0% year-over-year
• U.S. Federal Reserve releases its latest Beige Book regional economic survey
• Bank of Canada monetary policy meeting, where the central bank is expected to hold rates at 4.75%
• South Korea unemployment rate

Thursday 07/13:

• U.S. initial jobless claims and continuing claims data
• U.S. PPI data for June
• Industrial production data for the U.K. and the Eurozone

Friday 07/14:

• JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, BlackRock, State Street, and UnitedHealth Group report earnings
• Bastille Day in France, which commemorates the storming of the Bastille, a military fortress/prison, in Paris in 1789 and led to the French Revolution
• U.S. University of Michigan consumer sentiment (preliminary July data)