Weekly economic and financial commentary

Summary

United States: Even with Encouraging Inflation Developments, Economic Resilience Continues to Challenge the Fed

• In line with last week's CPI performance, the headline PPI increased 0.2% sequentially, two-tenths below expectations. The resiliency of the U.S. consumer was also on display, as total retail sales increased a stronger-than-expected 1.3% in October, boosted, in part, by a 1.3% jump in motor vehicles & parts and a 4.1% rise at gasoline stations. Weakness continued in the housing market, which is clearly in recession.
• Next week: Durable Goods Orders (Wed), New Home Sales (Wed)

International: What's Going On with Global Inflation?

• This week, October CPI data were released for the U.K., Canada and Japan, highlighting diverging paths for inflation in each economy. In the U.K., headline CPI inflation rose to 11.1% year-over-year, with the electricity, gas and other fuels category up nearly 90% compared to last year. Meanwhile, headline inflation in Canada has receded from a recent peak, coming in at 6.9%, but underlying price pressures continue to intensify. Last, Japan's inflation is much more contained compared to the U.K. and Canada, although prices are elevated by recent historical standards. Headline inflation quickened to 3.7% in October.
• Next week: Australia PMIs (Wed), Eurozone PMIs (Wed), U.K. PMIs (Wed)

Interest Rate Watch: Yield Curve Inversion Deepens

• Various points of the Treasury yield curve have inverted this year amid the Federal Reserve's aggressive policy tightening cycle. The spread between the yield on the two-year Treasury and the 10-year Treasury notes first turned negative in the spring and has become even more inverted in recent months, reaching a new low of -68 bps at the close on Thursday of this week.

Topic of the Week: The Economics of the 2022 World Cup

• What is expected to be the most viewed sporting event in world history is back, as 32 nations compete in Qatar starting on Sunday for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We take a look at the economics of Qatar as well as our own predictions for the tournament.

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