Kim Kahn

Hello, today is Sunday, January 25th, and I'm your host, Kim Kahn.

That's all for today's Wall Street Brunch.

Look for links to stories in the show notes section.

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Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action, news, and analysis.

Good afternoon.

Today is Thursday, January 22nd, and I'm your host, Kim Kahn.

Our top story so far.

Rates are moving higher after a raft of morning economic data pointing to sticky inflation, solid growth, and a somewhat stable labor market.

The core PCE price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.8% year-over-year in November, unchanged from October, and in line with expectations.

Olu Sonola, whose head of U.S.

economic research at Fitch Ratings, says the data suggests inflation is stuck.

PCE isn't converging back to target, but it's also not re-accelerating on tariff-driven pressures, he said, adding that resilient consumers and higher income wage gains keep the Fed in a holding pattern and policy restrictive for longer.

Q3 GDP was revised up to an annualized 4.4% from 4.3%, helped by stronger exports and investment, partly offset by a small downgrade to consumer spending.

And weekly initial jobless claims edged up by 1,000 to 200,000, better than the 209 expected.

Continuing claims dipped to $1.849 million from $1.875 million the week before.

Among active stocks, GE Aerospace is lower, even after Q4 adjusted earnings and 2026 guidance topped Wall Street expectations, as analysts flagged signs that its torrid growth may be slowing.

JPMorgan analyst Seth Seifman, who rates the stock overweight, says GE may find it harder to expand margins this year than in 2025,