The Daily Feather — Playing Both Sides

With today’s music released and accessed digitally via streaming services, the traditional A-side/B-side redefines obsolescence. Back in the days of vinyl, artists released their hit singles on 7-inch 45 rpm records. The boom in the pop music scene by making music more accessible to the average person was phenomenal. The A-side was reserved for the tune the record label hoped would be a hit; artists poured all their effort into this work. B-sides were relegated to being bonus tracks or deep cuts, and musicians were less concerned about their commercial prospects. This said, B-side effort was put forth -- musicians treated these tracks as opportunities to let artistic freedom run, experimenting with new styles. The Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye”/“I Am the Walrus” is archetypical. The former A-side No. 1 in multiple countries collided head on with the latter, partly inspired by two of John Lennon’s LSD trips.

Said Beatles’ A-side inspired today’s QI Feather. Today’s first chart picks up where we left off on Thursday’s missive. Initial jobless claims came in at a better-than-expected 227,000, on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, while SA continuing claims rose over the week to 1.965 million. The initial figures were the lowest in seven weeks, but continuing achieved a new cycle high. With no other reports released on a skinny docket day, Treasury yields from the 2-year to 10-year tenors drifted higher over the balance of Thursday’s trading day.