11-04-2018

The U.S. economy added 250,000 jobs in October—well above the consensus estimate of 200,000. Unemployment remained unchanged at 3.7%—the lowest since 1969—while labor force participation increased by 20 basis points (bps) to 62.9%. Average hourly earnings rose by 5 cents in October and are up by 3.1% over the year. Despite recent stock market volatility and potential employment impacts from Hurricane Florence, the October jobs report showed solid gains across all sectors of the economy, and wage growth for the year is at post-financial crisis highs. The 10-year Treasury yield is up nearly 60 basis points (bps) for the year. The 10-year breakeven inflation rate—a measure of markets’ expectations for inflation 10 years from now—has remained consistently above 2%, the Federal Reserve’s stated goal for inflation...

11-02-2018

A standard commercial lease will incorporate a share of the building’s property tax costs into the rent. In this way, landlords can automatically pass tax increases on to tenants through rent increases. But do landlords always have the market power to do this—to keep the tax “incidence,” or burden, on the tenant?...

10-26-2018

U.S. Gross Domestic Product grew at a better-than-expected annualized rate of 3.5% in Q3, slowing from Q2's 4.2%. The Q3 result is strong, but the deceleration from Q2 reflects a downturn in exports and nonresidential fixed investment. Growth was driven by a strong 4% gain in consumer spending—which comprises more than two-thirds of GDP—and an increase in government spending. Economic growth remains on track for its strongest performance since the global financial crisis...