Kolek planning to go pro
Like Majerus dropping 5 lbs.Edit: I forgot about the upward pressure on wages with near full employment.
As I previously indicated, the company I work is at the bottom of the supply chain. We have been slow the last 2-3 months and project the same until 2Q2024. All our customers tell us us their customers are on a major inventory burn post-COVID until 2Q2024. International customer orders are down 70-75% and US customers are only down ~35%. Two things: Every company all of a sudden has been pushing the "inflation is down" trope and "you need to give me a price cut" line. And I've been deluged with quote requests and inquiries the last 6+ weeks as I think companies are price shopping and getting ready to start ordering again. Some of my customers tell me their customers are already starting to pull in quantity again.FWIW
Wage growth held steady this period, 0.4%, where experts keep thinking it will drop.
Put it in the crime thread. It belongs there with the other lies, exaggerations, and dog whistles.
But it was very convenient for senior management at so many retailers to blame crime rather their poor inventory control and poor staffing models.
Not to mention it got the boomers/fox news crowd all riled up.There were posts about the shoplifting/crime epidemic by our resident dentists at the time the original articles were coming out
From Yahoo Finance:Chart of the week: Pessimistic consumers are suddenly feeling betterFriday’s consumer sentiment index, out from the University of Michigan, showed a 13% jump in how people feel about the economy, surprising investors with this positivity. Four months of pessimism have been erased in one fell swoop. To consumers, it feels like summer. Or last August anyway.The report said that this good mood is “primarily on the basis of improvements in the expected trajectory of inflation.”It’s not the only sign of an often pessimistic cohort putting a smile on.Last week’s Consumer Confidence Index from The Conference Board showed a wave of optimism rolled through in November, snapping a three-month decline. Higher prices, wars, and rates had led consumer concerns. And The Conference Board found these increases in optimism were largely driven by the 55-plus age group.Which speaks to one of the great things about these surveys: You don’t really have to wonder why. People are suddenly feeling good about inflation and where it’s heading, which has been the 2023 bugaboo for both Fed Chair Jay Powell and pretty much anybody who buys things — also known as consumers. Friday’s report, on this count, also offered some notable optimism. Consumers now expect prices to rise next year at the slowest pace in two years, and inflation over the long run is expected to rise by the least since 2011.
"Inflation Picks Up Slightly as Bidenflation Persists for 32nd Straight Month". Figures don't lie, but liars figure, aina?