Weekend treasure hunt… down the $7 jeans aisle. As inflation squeezes wallets, bargain-seekers are boosting sales at discount legends Ross and TJX (which owns TJ Maxx and Marshalls). Last quarter treasure-hunters helped fuel TJX's 13% sales growth. Off-price chains have also benefited by selling backlogged merch from larger, oversupplied retailers. Still, apparel prices are up 5% from last year and consumer spending is slowing. We’ll see whether the bargain boost is intact when Ross and TJX report this week.
Mixed signals… Economists expected unemployment to jump as interest rates rose, but the US economy added twice as many jobs as expected last month, finally recovering all jobs lost in the pandemic. But jobless claims also rose to their highest level since November last week, and mass layoffs are getting more common — a sign job growth may wane. The Fed wants the labor market to cool to curb #flation (just not too much). Economists are anxiously waiting to see if Thursday’s jobless claims rise again.