The ISM services index was a bit stronger than the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 52.1. Notably, 64 percent of respondents report increasing prices, up from 56.7 percent. 
If Fed chair Jerome Powell was looking for another excuse to not hike rates in March, the January 2024 Services ISM® Report On Business® provides a reason.
Economic activity in the services sector expanded in January for the 13th consecutive month as the Services PMI® registered 53.4 percent, say the nation’s purchasing and supply executives in the latest Services ISM® Report On Business®. The sector has grown in 43 of the last 44 months, with the lone contraction in December 2022.
The report was issued today by Anthony Nieves, CPSM, C.P.M., A.P.P., CFPM, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Services Business Survey Committee: “The overall growth rate increase in January is attributable to faster growth of the New Orders, Employment, and Supplier Deliveries indexes. The majority of respondents indicate that business is steady. ”
Optimistic About Rate Cuts, Cautious About Inflation
“[Businesses] are optimistic about the economy due to the potential impact of interest rate cuts; however, they are cautious due to inflation, associated cost pressures and ongoing geopolitical conflicts,” said Nieves.
Optimistic about rate cuts but worried about inflation and geopolitical conflicts is very similar to what Jerome Powell said in an interview with 60 minutes on Sunday.
Powell also told 60 Minutes, the “US Fiscal Path is Unsustainable”, and geopolitical risk was a top concern.
15 Key Powell Takeaways
For discussion and synopsis of the interview please see my 15 Key Takeaways From the 60 Minutes Interview.
Point number 5 was “people are experiencing high prices” and the overall price level will not come down.
Point number 11 was “Powell said geopolitical risk are greatest threat to the world economy.”
strong growth in prices come Jan 2024
more coming in months ahead
We will all have nothing and be happy!
The New World Order brought to us by the multimillionaire class.
While they have everything.
They got ’em by the heuvos and the squeeze is full on.
It may be a too simplistic view, but what to expect when money is being created out of the blue in a already insanely debt inflated financial system, with the ONLY collateral these days being warmongering and the fckn war industry ?!
Again, I’ve busted my ass for many years, generated wealth and had success. I’ve also been knocked down at times and struggled and learned a lot from those experiences.
Here’s the advice I have after about 50 trips around the sun:
Enjoy yourself. Most of the time, the best thing you can do, is take a trip to a dispensary and treat yourself with something good. Then go next door to the gas station and grab a tall boy as well. Go home to your recliner, twist one up like the old days, wash it down with your tall boy and have a good playlist jamming in the background.
That’s true American freedom. Look at it this way: you’re not slaving away in a Chinese factory, worrying about getting attacked in the Middle East, or foraging food in Africa.
Enjoy it!
I am very curious about what would happen if US debt only grew at the same rate of GDP, aka, maintenance debt level.
How much would we need to cut from the federal budget to determine how much would need to be cut, based on current GDP growth, not projected?
Basically, what I am asking, is how bad of a recession will we need to have to get the USA on a sustainable path?
Is it 1 trillion in cuts? 500 billion? I honestly do not know.
Debt has to increase faster than GDP because extra debt must be borrowed each year to pay the interest on the existing debt to avoid starting a debt deflation. The magic of fiat debt money.
Of course this always ends in tears as the debt load just swamps the economy. Happens every time a debt currency is created. All currencies like ours go to nothing. Always have.
If we cut govt. spending by two trillion per year (about 6600 per American per year, man woman and child) the deficit would be negligible and we could continue as we are, never paying off the debt, and still in thrall to the banksters for ever. If we cut another trillion, (10,000 per American per year), we could have zero national debt by the time you are an old man.
If the feds did cut their spending by 3 trillion per year, the pundits would tell you the economy would crash. Perhaps temporarily, but the following boom would be impressive, with all those laid off govt. employees doing something useful, instead of tormenting us with all their unConstitutional spending programs. Inflation would disappear, and all the govt. parasites would have to find work. Believe me, they would. I lived in a country that had no welfare whatsoever and few natural resources, and no income tax either of course. Everyone was fed, clothed, and housed, almost exclusively by their own efforts. We ate lobster, owned stuff, and were happy.
Sorry Ed, that just won’t happen. When the Soviet Union crashed the oligarchs came out on top. The workers got stuck with the same old borscht they had before. During the turmoil following the US dollar devaluation our billionaires, AKA Entrepreneurs, AKA Oligarchs, AKA Captains of Industry, will be in the driver’s seat and the cycle will start over. Unless of course, the politicians are able to take control and turn us into a Socialist Dictatorship. And then the cycle will start over. I’ll bet my pension both groups are working on their takeover plans right now.
You would have to cut Social Security and Medicare. I think they are about 2/3rds???? of our budget.