New Economic Data Moves US Closer to ‘Soft Landing’

The US economy continued to expand at a robust pace in the third quarter as household purchases accelerated and the federal government ramped up defense spending. Hiring jumped by the most in more than a year. The numbers are so good that some are saying the magic “soft landing” has been achieved. Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product increased at a 2.8% annualized pace after rising 3% in the previous quarter, according to the government’s initial estimate published Wednesday. Consumer spending, which comprises the largest share of economic activity, advanced 3.7%, the most since early 2023. The uptick was led by broad increases across goods—including autos, household furnishings and recreational items. At the same time, a closely watched measure of underlying inflation rose 2.2%, roughly in line with the Federal Reserve’s target, figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed. “There is almost nothing wrong with this picture,” Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics, said in a note. “Steady normalization of rates at a moderate pace is what the economy needs, nothing more.” Here’s your markets wrap.

Capital Group and KKR have partnered to debut two funds for wealthy individuals that invest across public and private debt markets. The collaboration between Capital Group, an asset management firm, and alternative investment powerhouse KKR is the latest example of money managers creating private-investment offerings for individual investors, whose wealth is largely invested in public markets. It’s also an example of how traditional asset managers are trying to capture higher fees from managing illiquid and higher-risk assets—and catch the fast growth of private credit.