Summary
United States: Economic Activity Continues to Fly High
- Data on the retail and manufacturing sectors surprised to the upside, while residential construction continued to gather momentum. The FOMC meeting minutes acknowledged the economy’s resilience and continued to stress the Committee’s resolve to bring inflation back down toward its 2% goal.
- Next week: Existing Home Sales (Tue), New Home Sales (Wed), Durable Goods (Thu)
International: Persistent and Resilient: A Few More BoE Hikes Still to Come
- Amid still persistent inflation, the latest U.K. GDP report confirmed a respectable performance from the British economy during the first half of the year. This week, we also received more insight into just how weak China’s economy is; activity data, such as retail sales and industrial production, were underwhelming.
- Next week: United Kingdom PMIs (Wed), Eurozone PMIs (Wed), Central Bank of Turkey (Thu)
Interest Rate Watch: A Higher Nominal and Real 10-Year Treasury Yield
- The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury climbed to a 15-year high this week. With market expectations of inflation little changed, the move has sparked a tightening in financial conditions not entirely unwelcome by the Fed.
Credit Market Insights: Mortgage Rates Reach Highest Level in over 20 Years
- The housing sector has acutely felt the effect of the Federal Reserve’s policy tightening. This week, Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.09%, its highest level in over 20 years.
Topic of the Week: England vs. Spain: The Lionesses’ Share of Inflation
This coming Sunday, England and Spain will face off in the Women’s World Cup Final in Sydney, Australia. Outside of football, however, the two countries are facing different challenges in battling soaring inflation.
