The Labor Market Is Still Intact

U.S. stocks opened higher but drifted lower through the trading day, digesting an October nonfarm payrolls report that showed a still-strong labor market in the aftermath of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s forceful rejection of “pivot” talk earlier this week and ahead of crucial midterm elections next week. Traders are now pricing in a 5.25% peak policy rate via the June 2023 swap contract. “I don’t think this changes anything in the Fed’s calculation,” noted Peter Boockvar in response to the jobs report, “but I do believe the trend in the unemployment rate is now going higher and will be 4%-plus soon.” Boockvar, the chief investment officer of Bleakly Advisory Group, joins Andreas Steno Larsen for today’s Daily Briefing to talk about when the Fed might finally change, or at least pause, its current policy path and the implications of Tuesday’s voting in the U.S. We also hear from Alexander Stahel about why U.S. immunity to the global energy crisis is an illusion. Watch the full conversation featuring Alexander Stahel and Andreas Steno Larsen here: https://rvtv.io/3WzREk0. And we want to hear from you too – please share your questions, comments, and suggestions! Editor’s Note: Our live chat feature will be unavailable for four to six weeks as we upgrade our video player technology. We apologize for the temporary loss of function. But we assure you the upgrade will more than justify the wait. In the meantime, we will be monitoring the comments section. So, in addition to conversing with your fellow community members, please share your questions there.