The Fed turned more hawkish this week, upgrading its outlook for the Fed Funds rate, and lowering its outlook on growth—leading to a risk-off tone in markets. Meanwhile, the ECB announced a new tool to help address the uneven transmission of monetary policy normalization.

Aggressive central bank tightening and declining purchasing power suggest the slowdown in growth should be steep, and faster than the inflation slowdown.

The ECB officially joined the hawkish camp, announcing a more aggressive path of rate hikes, which led markets to reprice the euro curve higher. Meanwhile, despite a move higher in initial claims, a strong U.S. jobs report will keep the FOMC on its hawkish rate-hiking path.

With inflation still above-trend, prices rising for necessities, central banks tightening policy, and fallout from China’s zero-COVID policy, we will watch for a sharp slowdown in growth over the 12–18 month outlook.

U.S. housing demand is cooling as the 30-year mortgage rate reaches a 13-year high, though housing starts and permits remain above pre-COVID levels. Economic data shows strong but normalizing growth, and recession risks remain as PMIs, housing data, and China’s economy all slow.

How does today's inflation compare to history and how are higher CPI numbers impacting economic growth? What can central bankers do to combat inflation? And how can investors navigate this environment? Dr. Christopher Smart weighs in on these questions and more.

A risk-off tone was prominent this week in markets amid rising worries of stagflation, given aggressive monetary policy. Despite the solid U.S. retail sales data, retailers led a sharp decline in equities mid-week, which pushed U.S. Treasury yields lower.

European gas disruptions led the euro to depreciate against the dollar, while U.S. inflation data buoyed stagflation fears and expectations of aggressive Fed tightening. In China, renminbi weakness continues, given more hints of policy easing.

Concerns over companies’ profit margins continue to mount as the U.S. economy faces the highest inflation since the 1980s. However, we find that some sectors’ margins actually increase in high inflation.