Obsidian Market Update 4/1/2022
Hello friends!
It’s April! Does that mean we’re really, really done with winter now? We hope so–bring on spring!
This week we’ll take a look at the good news surrounding unemployment and jobless claims. Then, will we write about the history of April Fool’s Day or is this an April Fool’s Day joke? Read on to find out!
In good news for working folks, the newest jobless claims report shows that jobless claims have fallen to a 53 year low, and unemployment claims were the lowest they’ve been since 1969. Companies are raising wages to keep workers on the job. The Omicron variant is having no impact on the labor market and worker shortages are being felt in many industries, according to some economists. We’ll keep an eye on whether this affects the inflation rate in a negative way.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell characterized the job market as “tight to an unhealthy level,” which strengthened the Fed’s decision to tighten monetary policy in reaction to inflation.
What does all of this mean for you? As we often say, this is why we balance your portfolios so that you don’t have to be as concerned about the constantly changing news reports – that’s what our Lifestyle Protection Plan is all about.
Today is April Fool’s Day, and our resident historian (we have one, believe it or not) has found us some interesting information on why April 1 is the day for pranksters worldwide.
It’s often hard to definitively trace the origins of folk days like April Fool’s Day, but there’s evidence that it may go back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar (which begins on April 1) to the Gregorian calendar which begins on January 1). Because Twitter hadn’t been invented yet, people were slow to get the news and celebrated the new year on April 1, and people in the know mocked them as April Fools. We can’t be sure this is where it all started, but it’s as good an idea as any other.
Whatever the origins, the day has caused some legendary pranks. We love Burger King’s 1998 claim to have developed a left-handed Whopper and the BBC’s 1980 joke about Big Ben going digital. What is your favorite April Fool’s Day prank? Have you had a great one played on you? We want to hear about it!
That’s it for us this week. We hope you get through your day with no one swapping sugar for salt or slapping a post-it on your back. See you here next week!
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