US Publications
Below is a list of our US Publications for the last 5 months. If you are looking for reports older than 5 months please email info@pantheonmacro.com, or contact your account rep
Please use the filters on the right to search for a specific date or topic.
- March payrolls will rebound after February’s drop, but a sustained strengthening is not in the cards.
- The end of a major strike will add 32K to March jobs, but recent support from mild weather is over.
- Claims data suggest the unemployment rate was stable in March, but the risks are to the upside.
- Low claims reflect few layoffs, but hiring is still too weak to absorb fully modest growth in labor supply.
- March business surveys point to Q1 GDP growth of about 2% in Q1...
- ...But the jump in oil prices has triggered a surge in inventory building, supporting demand only briefly.
Energy shock adding to the headwinds for growth and employment.
- The oil futures prices relevant for new capital investment have risen by much less than spot prices.
- Greater capital discipline means oil investment is less responsive to jumps in prices than in the past.
- Either way, oil and gas investment is a very small share of the overall economy.
- Calls that AI already justifies lower interest rates look ill-founded, given the limited productivity boost so far.
- AI might prove more disinflationary in the future, but the picture is highly uncertain.
- A faster “speed limit” for the economy seems more likely than much lower inflation and interest rates.
- The Q1 fall in households’ wealth implies a $50B hit to spending, equal to 0.2% of annual consumption.
- Spending on recreation services is closely correlated with changes in households’ wealth...
- ...and near-real time data indicate that food services spending is already taking a hit.
HIGHER GAS PRICES WILL HIT REAL INCOMES BY 1%
- THE FED WILL WORRY MORE ABOUT JOBS THAN THE CPI IN Q4
- The 1990 oil shock was key to the ensuing recession; the FOMC eventually eased despite 6% inflation.
- The economy is less oil intensive and firms’ balance sheets are more robust now; a recession is unlikely...
- ...But this FOMC has been very responsive to labor market weakness; we still expect easing by year-end.
- Higher gas prices look set to reduce real household incomes by roughly $15B a month.
- Tax refunds will boost incomes by about $10B year-over-year in February to April, but taper off thereafter.
- Bigger refunds also will do little to help lower income households hit hardest by higher gas prices.
- The median FOMC member still expects to ease policy by 25bp this year, unchanged from December.
- The new, higher forecasts for core PCE inflation are plausible, but those for stable unemployment are not.
- PPI data show retailers have passed on all the tariff costs to consumers; margins back on track.
- We think headline CPI inflation would soar to 6% if oil prices hit $150, with core PCE inflation rising to 31/2%.
- The jump implies a hit to GDP of just over 1pp, probably lifting the unemployment rate to about 5%.
- We think the Fed would wait until next spring to deliver the 75bp easing we expect this year in our base case.
Little to cheer for homebuilders.
Underlying manufacturing output still looks anemic.
- FOMC participants will lift their Q4 forecasts for both core PCE inflation and the unemployment rate.
- The median participant likely will still expect 25bp easing this year, but risks are skewed to no cuts.
- We still look for 75bp easing, but have pushed back our forecast for the first cut to September.
- January was the fifth straight month of sub-0.3% gains in real consumption; the worst since 2012.
- Oil prices will squeeze real incomes by 11/4% if they are sustained at $100, or 1/2% if they follow futures.
- Households lack the balance sheet strength to brush this aside; spending will grow only modestly.
- QCEW data suggest payrolls probably fell by about 10K per month in the six months to September.
- The gap between first and final payroll estimates is trending at about 70K, still big relative to history.
January’s jump in housing starts will unwind; population growth is slow and affordability
- stretched.
- The year-to-date increase in the core CPI is in line with its 2015-to-19 average.
- Airline fares and used auto prices will soar, but tariff pass-through is mostly over; rents will slow further.
- The core PCE deflator again likely rose more quickly than the core CPI in February, but will slow mid-year.
- The highest net balance of small business reported rising sales in February since May 2022...
- ...But elevated uncertainty is keeping capex intentions at multi-year lows, and hiring plans subdued.
- We are revising up our forecast for the January core PCE deflator; prices for legal services soared.
- The core CPI likely rose by 0.2% in February, despite the rebound in used auto prices.
- Nearly all the tariff costs have already come through; snowstorms likely weighed on clothing prices.
- The jump in oil prices to $85pb implies headline CPI inflation will shoot above 3% soon.
