Remy Blaire brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets open for trading Monday, March 18.
Full Video Transcript Below:
REMY BLAIRE: I’m Remy Blaire - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.
Investors are looking ahead to the Fed’s two-day policy meeting kicking off March 19th. Markets are pricing in a 99 percent chance that the central bank holds rates steady after back-to-back hot inflation reports. The meeting will conclude with comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell – investors will be listening closely to these for hints into the Fed’s path forward on interest rates.
And as inflation continues to climb, wages are far from keeping up. According to a wage tracker at Indeed, wages in the U.S. have fallen sharply over the last year, hovering near pre-pandemic levels when competition was less fierce. According to the tracker, February wages increased only 3.3 percent compared to 2023. This is a notable drop from January 2022 when wages were up 9.3 percent from the previous year.
The tracker measures the average year-on-year percentage changes in wages and salaries advertised in job postings on Indeed, controlled for job titles. This stark drop comes as the labor market remains historically tight despite sky-high interest rates. Economists expect the labor market to finally slow down in the next few months as interest rates work their way through the economy.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Remy Blaire with TheStreet
