Nope, the Fed cares about PCE because that’s the inflation measure it targets over time. Consequently, core PCE and core PCE services ex-housing.
CPI and PPI matter for policy setting to the extent that their components feed into PCE. But Core CPI Services-XH and Core PCE Serviced-XH have little overlap in their components. The Fed is concerned about the latter falling because real rates, in the model that the Fed uses, get tighter the longer rates remain on hold. Just look at the last quarterly SEP—it forecasts PCE not CPI.
CPI ain't PCE my guy. Other than suggesting a firm January print, this print has not really changed forecasts for core PCE--the Fed's preferred target---to hit 2% yoy by May.
I get the sense that cultural malaise and managerial rent-seeking afflict many legacy firms (outside of tech). In some ways, such corporations feel like they're converging with peers in Japan---a gerontocratic society with limited social mobility (not a novel observation). If corporate America is indeed undergoing a process of "Japanification," such a phenomenon would likely result in outcomes at odds with received wisdom on career success. The type of worker "unruliness" documented here then should be unsurprising.
(As an aside, I find it interesting that Japan has had pretty low levels of unemployment over the past twenty years. One might even expect this in a paternalistic society that bolsters rent-seeking incumbents. Hence, individuals can feel "stuck" even as the media superficially assesses data to fit the narrative of a "hot economy.").
(Another observation, it's funny for the article to cite an executive comparing Americans to people in a country where menial workers are paid slave wages.)
CPI and PPI matter for policy setting to the extent that their components feed into PCE. But Core CPI Services-XH and Core PCE Serviced-XH have little overlap in their components. The Fed is concerned about the latter falling because real rates, in the model that the Fed uses, get tighter the longer rates remain on hold. Just look at the last quarterly SEP—it forecasts PCE not CPI.