Bring On The Stagflation Jokes (Because Misery Is ‘Funny’)

Well, the US manufacturing sector is apparently on fire -- in a good way, with the caveat that inflationary pressures continue to build. December's ISM print, 60.7, was a scorcher. Consensus was looking for "just" 56.8, which would have been solid enough. The range of estimates was 54 to 58.5, so the actual read came in well above even the most optimistic guess from nearly five-dozen economists. As the subheader in the figure (above) notes, December's headline print is the highest in more t