The need to know
It’s the second Thursday of the month.
You know what that means, Right?
The consumer price index report will be released at 8:30 AM EST.
It’s a day I wait for every month, at least for the last 18 months or so, as inflation has escalated worldwide. The report will detail the state of inflation in the United States for the previous month. These numbers are incredibly important because they will, in part, determine how the Federal Reserve will manage interest rates moving forward, which will, in turn, dictate the direction of the stock market, the bond market, the housing market, and so much more.
Similarly, I am also keenly aware of the first Friday of every month when the unemployment numbers are released for the previous month. I’m usually hoping that the United States created a substantial number of jobs each month, which will keep the unemployment number low and Americans working. I’m also curious to see how unemployment reports from previous months have been revised as more data has been gathered.
Oddly enough, low unemployment has been closely tied to higher inflation as of late. In a tight job market, employers are forced to increase wages in order to hire and retain talent, and those increased salaries drive up inflation.
Lately, investors have been hoping for a strong jobs report, but not too strong.
All of this is to say that these numbers (and many more) matter to me, and I am always keenly aware of when they are being released and what they mean.
But I was speaking to a colleague yesterday who knows nothing about either of these numbers. She doesn’t know when these reports are released or even what they mean for the economy. She is moving through life unaware and disinterested in this level of economic awareness.
In many ways, I found myself envious of her disposition. This is not to imply that she is flawed in any way for not knowing that the CPI report is being released this morning. She is a smart person who has directed her focus, effort, and attention on other meaningful pursuits, and in fairness, my knowledge of today’s CPI report will not change my life in any significant way, nor will my knowledge of the data contained therein make an enormous difference on my decisions moving forward. I might be more or less inclined to purchase certain stocks based upon the results, and understanding the results of the report will help me better understand the movements in the stock and bond markets, but ultimately, the information isn’t essential to my well-being, nor do I have any influence over the numbers.
I found myself wondering if my colleague wasn’t right in her approach to life. Do I really need to be burdened with the knowledge of these numbers and their release dates? Am I being a little ridiculous in my focus on such things?
I found myself wondering if my attention to these matters might not be as necessary as I think.
The struggle, I suppose, is that even if I decided that the CPI report doesn’t contain information necessary to my personal well-being, my curiosity is insatiable. Even if the information is meaningless to me and my life, I know that the report will have an enormous implication in the financial markets and that the trends in the CPI will impact the country in profound political ways.
Again, this information won’t change my life, but I can’t see myself getting to a place where I wouldn’t want to know.
Curiosity killed the cat, but how does one dispense with curiosity?
