INFLATION IS HIGHEST IN 13 YEARS — WSJ’s Gwynn Guilford: “The U.S. economy’s rebound from the pandemic is driving the biggest surge in inflation in nearly 13 years, with consumer prices rising in May by 5 percent from a year ago. “The Labor Department said last month’s increase in the consumer-price index was the largest since August 2008, when the reading rose 5.4 percent. The core-price index, which excludes the often-volatile categories of food and energy, jumped 3.8 percent in May from the year before—the largest increase for that reading since June 1992.” But hotter inflation has failed to shake markets out of torpor — Reuters’ Karen Pierog: “Investors are not freaking out over a spike in U.S. inflation in the past two months, showing confidence that the Federal Reserve is deftly handling a rebound in economic growth even as it leaves markets guessing about how it defines "transitory" when it talks about price increases. “In fact, Wall Street's benchmark index inched to a record high after days of sideways trading, and U.S. Treasury yields eased after Thursday's Labor Department report showed the consumer price index (CPI) in May had its biggest year-on-year jump in 13 years.” And the inflation rate climb has added impetus to a Fed policy shift — WSJ’s Paul Kiernan: “The recent inflation surge gives Federal Reserve officials further reason to begin discussing an eventual wind-down of their pandemic-driven easy-money policies at their meeting next week. “A growing number of economists are becoming concerned that the Fed could fall behind the curve on inflation as it seeks to aid the labor market’s recovery. If that happened, the central bank would have to tighten policy more abruptly than economists and market participants currently anticipate, dealing a potential blow to the economy and fueling market volatility.” DESPITE ECONOMIC RECOVERY, ECB KEEPS POLICIES STEADY — NYT’s Eshe Nelson: “Even as Europe’s economic outlook is rapidly improving, European Central Bank policymakers decided on Thursday to maintain their ‘very accommodative’ monetary stance. Governments are lifting lockdown restrictions and the vaccine rollout has sped up, which has led to a bounce in the services industry and ‘ongoing dynamism’ in manufacturing, Christine Lagarde, president of the central bank, told reporters at a news conference in Frankfurt.” FED BLANACE SHEET TOPS $8T FOR FIRST TIME — Reuters’ Kate Duguid: “The Federal Reserve's balance sheet topped $8 trillion for the first time, weekly data published on Thursday by the U.S. central bank on its holdings showed. "The report also showed the Fed appears to have sold around $160 million of its corporate debt holdings since Monday, following the announcement it would unwind its nearly $14 billion corporate credit portfolio. As a first step, the central bank began selling its stakes in 16 bond exchange-traded funds on Monday.” MANY AMERICANS MOVED TO CHEAPER HOUSING MARKETS LAST YEAR — AP’s Alex Veiga: “Many Americans who moved last year relocated to areas where homes were, on average, bigger and less expensive. On average, people who moved to a different city in 2020 ended up in a ZIP code where average home values were nearly $27,000 lower than in their previous ZIP code, according to Zillow.” GOLDMAN TO REQUIRE EMPLOYEES TO REPORT VACCINATION STATUS — NYT’s Lauren Hirsch: “Goldman Sachs wants to know how many of its employees have gotten a Covid-19 shot. The bank sent a memo this week informing employees in the United States that they had until noon on Thursday to report their vaccination status TRANSITIONS — BGR Group has named Andy Lewin co-head of its financial services practice. Lewin joins former GOP Rep. Sean Duffy in this role. | 
