The Economic Week Ahead, March 5-10

Fed Chair Jerome Powell will testify on the Fed's semiannual monetary policy report to two congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday. He is likely to say that although there are signs of disinflation, inflation remains too high and the Fed still has lots of work to do to bring it down.

Powell's favorite labor market indicator, i.e., job openings, will be out on Wednesday for January. Similar indicators suggest it will be up for a second month in a row (chart). The Fed wants this series to go down, not up in order to moderate wage inflation.