US Despite a dismal Q2 real GDP reading, the jump in US NFP (non farm payrolls) in July and upward revisions to previous months’ data suggest the overall economy has not lost any steam. Coming in much better than expected, NFP rose by 255,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.9%. With upward revisions [...]
US GDP growth expanded at a 1.2% pace in the second quarter with consumer spending serving as the key driver of overall economic activity. Structures, equipment investment, government spending and inventories all subtracted from growth. Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, growth is expected to remain around 2.0% over the next couple of [...]
US ISM indexes for both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors showed activity picked up in June. This news, however, paled in comparison to the blockbuster job report on Friday, which reported 287k positions added to non-farm payrolls in the month. The diffusion index showing the proportion of private industries adding jobs rose to 62.4, up [...]
US Personal spending rose by a solid 0.4% month-on-month in May, coming on the heels of an impressive 1.1% month-on-month gain in April, while initial jobless claims suggested robust job growth continues. The US economy should remain relatively well-insulated from Brexit-related spillovers, but some drag may manifest in the second half of year. Still, the [...]
US The housing market is on solid ground heading into the busy summer selling season, according to home sales data released this week. Data still supports the common expectation that housing will remain a bright spot for the US economy in 2016. Durable goods orders point to continued weakness in business investment this year. The [...]
US Global bond yields continued to drop, with the US 10-year dipping as low as 1.54% before edging up slightly at the end of the week, pulled down by “Brexit” fears. The Federal Open Market Committee left rates unchanged at their meeting on Wednesday, noting the slowdown in job growth and heightened global economic uncertainty. [...]
US The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey indicated that US job openings rose to match an all-time high in April. Turnover eased slightly, although hiring also fell. This is evidence of a tighter labor market and job gains are likely to be more modest moving forward. Revised data showed that US productivity fell by [...]
US The weak May payrolls data acts to overshadow the otherwise positive week for the US economy. May car sales along with a strong April report for consumer personal income and expenditures added further comfort that the US economy was bouncing back from a weak first quarter. Although the US payrolls report is notoriously volatile, [...]
US US Data this week generally surprised to the upside. The Bloomberg US economic surprise index rose to the highest level since the start of 2015. New home sales popped 16.6% in April, while pending home sales jumped 5.1%. Durable goods rose 3.4%, although most of the gain came from the volatile aircraft and defense [...]
US Economic data largely beat consensus expectations over the past week, with positive signs from the factory sector and homebuilding. The positive data stream continued with reports on housing, industrial production, and consumer prices all suggesting a constructive tone. Industrial production rose for the first time in three months on the back of solid gains [...]
