slowdown

Home Depot’s slowdown wasn’t a complete surprise, wrote Bobby Griffin, an analyst at Raymond James.

Blame for the slowdown has gone to the federal government shutdown and related flight cancellations, which likely spooked many potential air travelers.

At 4.3% through August, unemployment had remained modest before the shutdown, but a significant slowdown in job creation has fueled fears that the labor market is cooling.

“We expect a U.S. core real GDP slowdown to emerge, which pressures the S&P 500 versus its year-ago comparison” he wrote.

A significant slowdown in job creation prompted the Fed to resume easing rates in September.