U.S. productivity, secret sauce of economy, falls for first time in almost three years
U.S. productivity decreased at a 0.8% annual rate in...
U.S. productivity decreased at a 0.8% annual rate in the first quarter, the government said Thursday. That’s the first decline since the second quarter of 2022.
Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had projected a 0.7% decrease. Over the past four quarters, U.S. productivity has increased at a 1.4% pace, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2023.
Unit-labor costs, a key measure of wages, jumped 5.7% in the first quarter, up from 2.0% in the fourth quarter.
Bottom Line:
🔴 Negative for inflation outlook: Rising labor costs and falling productivity raise inflation risks.
🔴 Potential market impact: Could push bond yields higher as traders reassess interest rate cuts.
🔴 Federal Reserve implication: Makes the Fed’s job harder—slower growth but still sticky inflation.
Permian Resources Buys Apache's Northern Delaware Assets for $608MM
Permian Resources is growing in the northern Delaware Basin through...
Permian Resources is growing in the northern Delaware Basin through an acquisition from Apache parent APA Corp.
The company said after markets closed May 7 that the deal includes 13,320 net acres and 8,700 net royalty acres in New Mexico, near some of Permian Resources’ core operating areas. The consideration for the deal is $608 million.
APA said production from the assets is expected to average 12,400 boe/d (46% oil) in 2025.
Permian Resources has identified over 100 gross operated, 2-mile drilling locations on the assets. The company said the acquired inventory is scheduled for development in the near term and features an average breakeven of $30/bbl WTI.
The deal also increases Permian Resources’ working interest in over 100 existing operated locations and adds non-operated acreage.
Fed holds rates steady, says tariffs will slow economy
The nation’s central bankers didn’t grow up in the circus, but they’re...
The nation’s central bankers didn’t grow up in the circus, but they’re walking a tightrope nonetheless. Amid pressure on all sides from the anticipated effects of President Trump’s tariffs, the Federal Reserve held interest rates at 4.25%–4.5% yesterday, as expected, and ramped up warnings about the nation’s economic trajectory.
“We can afford to be patient as things unfold,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said when asked by an Axios reporter why the Fed was waiting to make a policy decision until hard data caught up with soft data—a gap known as the “Vibecession.”
Though he’s waiting to see what happens, Powell is concerned for the future: “If the large increases in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they’re likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and an increase in unemployment,” he said.
Pakistan vows to respond after India launches airstrikes
Pakistan said 31 people were killed by the ...
Pakistan said 31 people were killed by the airstrikes, which India said targeted nine areas where terrorist attacks had been planned in retaliation for a terrorist shooting in Kashmir last month that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan called the strikes an act of war, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said the country “reserves the right to respond, in self-defense, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing.” The confrontation has stoked fears of a potential escalation in conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.
China and the US to talk trade in Switzerland this weekend. In...
China and the US to talk trade in Switzerland this weekend. In the first high-level trade discussions between the two countries since President Trump introduced 145% tariffs on Chinese goods and China retaliated with its own duties, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will sit down with their Chinese counterparts. Going into the meeting, the two sides are far apart, and President Trump said yesterday he wouldn’t lower tariffs in advance. Bessent said, “The current tariffs and trade barriers are unsustainable, but we don’t want to decouple. What we want is fair trade.” China, which has cast the US as a bully in the fight, cautioned the US against using the talks as “a smoke screen to continue coercion and extortion.”
The conclave to elect the new pope began yesterday, but so far, there’s only been black smoke coming from the chimney. And like the rest of us, some cardinals watched the movie Conclave to help get a handle on papal politics before it began.
President Trump tapped best-selling author and wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means, whom he described as having “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” to be Surgeon General, after his first nominee, Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, withdrew over questions about her medical training.
Uber reported Q1 revenue that was lower than expected, though still 14% higher than the same quarter last year.
Three former Memphis police officers were found by an out-of-town jury to be not guilty of all state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop in 2023.
