Rising Prices - Kuby's Commentary 04.19.2021

US jobless claims plunged to 576,000 last week, their lowest level of the COVID-19 pandemic, and far lower than the consensus forecast expected of 700,000 claims. On the earnings front, a record number of companies are beating estimates by a record amount, leading to the strongest growth in over a decade. Retail inflation for March came in hotter than expected, but apparently not hot enough to burn bond investors, as yields in the Ten-Year Treasury actually declined 10 basis points to 1.57% during the week. Market participants seem unconcerned with those inflationary risks, or any risks for that matter. As evidence, the VIX (traditionally viewed as the "fear" index, but possibly a "complacency" index too) sank 2.6% to its lowest level since the pandemic hit in February 2020.