Last week’s big driver was the Wednesday CPI print, which, once again, saw Core CPI print above the expectation. That’s the fourth consecutive month for that and it’s also the seven consecutive month of Core CPI sticking within a 0.2% band of the 4% level. That’s far above the Fed’s 2% target and when combined with continued strength in the labor market, it further brings to question the expectation for rate cuts to start at some point this year. Near immediately after that CPI print, expectations for a cut in June were priced-out; and as I had looked at last week, that would mean only four more rate decisions in ... (full story)