by Mark Mead Baillie
GoldSeek
We start with inflation. Year-to-date we’ve diligently documented that ’tis nowhere near the Federal Reserve’s sought 2% target. And not that you need be reminded, but with May inflation readings commencing next week, let’s briefly reprise April’s inflation summary as herein presented a week ago. The data speak for themselves:
[…] Now a week hence, Friday’s StateSide jobs report for May had “inflation” written all over it: per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the pace of Hourly Earnings doubled from +0.2% in April to +0.4%; the net increase in Non-Farm Payrolls was the largest year-to-date and incorporates those higher wages; and yet (wait for it…) the rate of Unemployment nonetheless ratcheted higher from 3.9% to 4.0%! How does that happen? Cue the late great Bullet Bill King: “Holy Toledo!”