Corporate payrolls increased by a robust 234,000 in January, according to this morning’s ADP Employment Report. The gain is slightly below December’s 242,000, although both numbers point to a solid rate of expansion in the labor market. Taking today’s update at face value points to a better-than-expected advance in Friday’s official employment report that’s due from the Labor Department. The mystery is why the government’s data to date has been trailing ADP’s estimates by a comparatively wide margin. Will the upcoming report from Washington close the gap? Or has the ADP data been overestimating the strength of the economy’s record on minting new jobs?
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Focus Economics, a consultancy that specializes in slicing, dicing and otherwise aggregating forecasts from various sources, rolled out its annual short list of “top blogs” in economics and finance for 2018 and The Capital Spectator made the grade. It’s a high honor, considering the prestigious roster of sites — 101 in all — that we’re rubbing shoulders with. Happy reading!

The question has gone viral lately, courtesy of the recent rise in interest rates. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, for instance, edged up to 2.73% yesterday, the highest in nearly four years. The 2-year rate’s ascent has been even stronger, rising to a 10-year high on Tuesday.
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Trump links presidency to US prosperity in State of the Union speech: Bloomberg
Five key takeaways in Trump’s State of the Union speech: The Hill
Fed on track to leave rates unchanged in Yellen’s last meeting as chair: Reuters
N. Korea expected to parade missiles ahead of Winter Olympics in S. Korea: CNN
Is Amazon’s entry into healthcare space a step to reordering industry? Bloomberg 
US Consumer Confidence Index rises in Dec, close to 18-year high: CNBC
Case-Shiller index: US home prices rise 6.2% in Nov vs year-ago level: USA Today
Should int’l investors show more respect (fear) for forex risk? The Economist
Trump’s approval by state — West Virginia leads, Vermont lags: Gallup