April 11, 2026 – March CPI came in at 3.3%. The increase was solely due to fuel prices increasing by a record-breaking 20%+. Without that item, CPI would have been at the originally expected 2.4%. For now, there really is no sense in trying to forecast the CPI. Fuel prices are likely to go up and down double-digits for several months. Once things finally settle down, I will see where we stand. For the heck of it, my data expects CPI to be 3.2%-3.6% in the next report.
FED FUNDS RATE – The market has the Fed Funds Rate priced at 3.7%. It is set at 3.75%-4.0%. Nothing has changed since the events started with Iran. For a bit, the market was pricing in the chance of an INCREASE in rates this year. I had mentioned last Summer that an increase was more likely than another decrease. After the cease fire (As I write this, the USA and IRAN are meeting for the first time since 1979….I have no idea how the talks will turn out), the market priced away the chance of an increase this year.
FUTURIST TIDBIT – This month it is simply factual information about how AI is replacing workers. What is not mentioned in the Amazon item is they plan on NOT hiring the 600,000 people they will need over the next 5 years. AI will handle all of those jobs! I leave you with these items:
Salesforce cut its support team from 9,000 to 5,000 after AI started handling half their customer conversations. Amazon cut roughly 30,000 corporate roles, saying AI lets them run leaner. Klarna’s AI assistant replaced the equivalent of 700 human agents. IBM is slowly letting 7,800 back-office positions evaporate through attrition. SAP announced a restructuring of 8,000 roles and promised 500 million euros in additional annual profit.
ARTEMIS – I will keep my thoughts short. This was so 1969. Boring. Nothing new. They didn’t even land on the moon!!!!!! I guess when you grow up near the Cape and see the entire Skylab and Space Shuttle programs you aren’t impress by a moon redux. I love NASA and space stuff. But, this was a total waste of time and money. What is impressive is how we went to the moon in the 1960s using just an abacus:) I look back and am amazed how we accomplished such almost 60 years ago.
Til next month. We may know alot more re the Middle East. Or we will be in a long, slow phase of who knows how this will end.
Shalom,
The Mann