Economic Outlook – 24 March 2019
US The two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) was the focal point last week, concluding with a unanimous decision to keep the range of the federal funds rate unchanged between 2.25% and [...]
Economic Outlook – 17 March 2019
US US January retail sales report was released last week and it showed a bounce-back in consumer spending after what was the worst month for retailers since the Great Recession. Stripping away volatile components (food, [...]
Economic Outlook – 10 March 2019
US Last week’s Nonfarm payrolls came in well below expectations, as employers added just 20K new jobs in February after adding 311K in January. Through the volatility, the three-month average gain of 186K is still [...]
Economic Outlook – 3 March 2019
US The weakness in the US housing market felt through much of last year has extended into 2019. Existing home sales dropped 1.2% in January, as the lingering effects of rapid home price appreciation and [...]
Economic Outlook – 24 February 2019
US The weakness in the US housing market felt through much of last year has extended into 2019. Existing home sales dropped 1.2% in January, as the lingering effects of rapid home price appreciation and [...]
Economic Outlook – 17 February 2019
US In the US, there are signs that the shutdown has had a negative impact on activity. The pace of expansion in the services sector decelerated in January. The ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 56.7 [...]