Betsey Stevenson 5.0 1 idea

Payrolls fell by 90,000. Stevenson notes that if you subtract private sector healthcare and education, the US has seen "negative job growth" for 11 of the last 13 months. The consumer is being hit by a "double whammy": rising gas prices (up $0.50/gallon) and a deteriorating labor market. Discretionary spending power is evaporating as inflation persists (driven by tariffs) while employment weakens. This is the definition of stagflation, which is toxic for consumer cyclical stocks. SHORT. The consumer is tapped out and losing employment leverage. Federal stimulus checks or aggressive rate cuts by the Fed to stave off recession.