US Economy Passing Tests With Flying Colors

While everyone in our business breathlessly awaits tomorrow's payroll employment report, the economy passed the brunt of this week's labor market tests with flying colors. Of course, the labor market is showing signs of easing. But that's mostly compared to the record tightness seen a couple years ago. We think the labor market is normalizing. Meanwhile, the economy continues to prove stronger than many thought possible. That should continue to boost corporate profits and therefore employment (chart).

Here's more on the latest data: