US US retail sales data came in a bit light, rising just 0.1%, but data for the prior month were revised higher and the core measure of retail sales remains up at a brisk 7.8% pace over the past 3 months. Keep an eye on clothing and department store sales, which tumbled 1.7% and 1.0%, [...]
US US employers added 201,000 new jobs in August. The prior two months of additions were revised down 50,000, bringing the three-month average to 185,000. Gains in August were broad based, with most industries adding jobs over the month, notably the transportation and warehousing & construction sectors. Manufacturing jobs fell slightly during the month. The [...]
US The second estimate for US GDP revealed a faster pace of economic growth than first estimated, with the annualised growth rate quickening slightly to 4.2% in Q2. The details also offered additional colour on the state of the economy at this late stage of the cycle and, with some exception, those details were broadly [...]
US US existing homes sales declined 0.7% to 5.34 million units in July. Single-family sales fared slightly better and only experienced a 0.2% drop, while condos and co-ops fell 4.8%. Total resales have now declined on a monthly basis in each of the past four months and are trending 1.5% below year-ago levels. The parade [...]
US US Consumer Prices matched expectations and edged up 0.2% in July. The monthly gain kept the headline index at a 2.9% increase on a year basis, the fastest pace in six years. Energy prices were a drag on the headline figure and dropped 0.5% for the month, mostly the result of lower gas prices. [...]
US US Consumer Prices matched expectations and edged up 0.2% in July. The monthly gain kept the headline index at a 2.9% increase on a year-to-year basis, the fastest pace in six years. Energy prices were a drag on the headline figure and dropped 0.5 % for the month, mostly the result of lower gas [...]
US The Employment Cost Index rose to its highest year-over-year pace of the expansion in Q2. Employment costs at private businesses have risen 2.9% amid a more rapid rise in wages and benefits. Public sector costs have been more subdued, however, as wage growth has slipped back under 2.0%. For all the hand wringing over [...]
US US real GDP grew at a 4.1% pace during the second quarter and first quarter growth was also slightly stronger than first reported. The stronger GDP figures do not come as much of a surprise. This past quarter’s GDP data were even more difficult to predict than usual. The second quarter data include benchmark [...]
US The US labor market remained hot in June. Employers added 213,000 new jobs, while May’s gain was revised up to 244,000 from 223,000. Gains in June were broad based, with most industries adding jobs over the month. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.0%; however, the upward movement was due to a 0.2 percentage [...]
US New home sales jumped 6.7% in May, to a 689,000-unit pace. However, April sales were revised lower and now reflect a 3.7% drop. Sales in the South were up 17.9% in May, to a new cycle high, and accounted for all of the national increase. More than half of new home sales occur in [...]
