Commentary

WWU Center for Economic and Business Research️ 3 hours ago

Equities weakened last week as investor concerns regarding AI sent tech stocks lower; and Treasury yields fell as a cooler-than-expected January CPI (0.2% headline and 0.3% core) pushed up bets of multiple rate cuts this year. Nonfarm payrolls in January increased by 130,000, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3%, signaling a robust labor market at the start of the new year; however, downward benchmark revisions indicated only 181,000 jobs were created in 2025, the weakest annual job growth since 2003. Retail sales were flat in December, representing a relatively muted end to the holiday shopping season. On the fiscal side, the January Treasury budget deficit came in at $94.6B, narrower than the $190.0B expected. The CBO also released an outlook that projects an expanding annual deficit through 2036. @Chmura Economics & Analytics

WWU Center for Economic and Business Research️ 4 hours ago

This Week: Wednesday: The Fed will release the minutes from its Jan. 27-28 meeting, which will be closely watched for hints about the future direction of rate cuts. Thursday: December trade figures are due. Friday: The personal consumption expenditures price index for December—the Fed's preferred inflation gauge—is released, along with an advance estimate of fourth-quarter GDP.

WWU Center for Economic and Business Research️ 5 hours ago

America is short on optimism, according to a poll released this week by Gallup that asked US adults what they expect their lives to be like in five years. Fewer expected to be “thriving” in five years’ time, per the pollster’s definition, than at any point since they began reporting that data in 2009. Just 21% of Americans expect the next generation to be better off, according to Edelman’s annual trust survey, conducted in late 2025 — a nine-point decline in optimism from a year prior. The University of Michigan asks in its monthly consumer survey whether respondents expect their financial situation to be better in five years; that measure hit its lowest recorded level in October.

WWU Center for Economic and Business Research️ 18 hours ago

Climate and weather are not the same thing. Both are having dramatic economic impacts/consequences in the US from day-to-day costs to insurance to infrastructure. https://buff.ly/zDSxIMY

WWU Center for Economic and Business Research️ 20 hours ago

Seattle-based outdoor apparel brand to shutter headquarters, lay off workers. Eddie Bauer plans to permanently close its corporate office in Seattle and lay off 60 workers in the process, according to a state filing. https://buff.ly/FFDf43A

WWU Center for Economic and Business Research️ 20 hours ago

These regional stereotypes aren’t deliberately programmed into ChatGPT by its maker, OpenAI. They’re absorbed from the vast quantities of online text used to train its artificial intelligence. https://buff.ly/ZM5hfPn