CCA tracks the following 14 economic datapoints, which are some of the common indicators used to monitor the status of the macro economy. A few key takeaways that CCA is monitoring are:
- Recent Rate Cuts
- Fed officials have cut rates twice in the past three months, by 50 basis points in September and by 25 basis points in November. Traders are pricing in more than a 70% chance of another rate cut in December.
- Job Market
- Economists predicted a 113,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls in October, but the actual figure was much lower at 12,000. Analysts expect that this is due to a combination of the Boeing strike, the impact of recent hurricanes in the Southeastern U.S., and a poor response rate to employment polls that make the employment situation report less reliable.
- Despite the slow month of employment growth, the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%, which is lower by historical standards.>
- Inflation
- The Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis in September, the same amount as in August and July. The Index has increased 2.4% over the last 12 months.
- The PCE Price Index increased 0.2% in September 2024 and 2.1% over the September 2023 figure.
- Both indicators show evidence that inflation is cooling and continuing to move towards the Fed’s target rate of 2.0%.
About Chesapeake Corporate Advisors
Chesapeake Corporate Advisors is a boutique investment banking and corporate advisory firm providing strategic advisory services (value creation) and investment banking services (value realization) to companies with revenues between $10 million and $200 million. For more information, visit www.ccabalt.com or call 410.537.5988.
