The Mark Lund Growth Report

INFLATION DECLINES Consumer prices retreated 0.2% in March as fuel costs fell, a sea change from the 0.7% rise in the Consumer Price Index seen in February. (Labor Department data did show a 0.1% rise in core CPI.) Annualized consumer inflation was at 1.5% in March, down half a percent in a month. Year-over-year inflation […]

HOUSEHOLDS BOUGHT LESS LAST MONTH Retail sales were down 0.4% in March, according to the Commerce Department. This unanticipated dip was the deepest retreat in nine months. Even with volatile car and truck sales factored out, the March decline remained 0.4%.1  CONSUMER SENTIMENT SLIPS The University of Michigan’s overall index of consumer sentiment came in

JUST 88,000 NEW JOBS? In the wake of the Labor Department’s disappointing March employment report, puzzled analysts tried to figure out the reasons for such poor job growth. Did businesses fear the impact of the federal budget cuts in March and scale back hiring? Were there fewer food service, retail and temporary job openings? (More

SOLID GAINS IN HOUSEHOLD SPENDING, INCOME  According to the latest Commerce Department report, household spending was up 0.7% in February (the largest gain in five months) while consumer incomes jumped 1.1%. February’s 35-cent climb in gasoline prices influenced the first number, while an 11.9% surge in dividends influenced the second. Still, consumer spending rose 0.3%

RETAILERS RECEIVE A MAJOR BOOST   Higher payroll taxes don’t seem to have hurt shopping or driving: the Commerce Department noted a 1.1% improvement in retail sales for February. As gas station receipts increased 5.0% and auto sales 1.1% last month, there was also a 0.4% gain in core retail sales and a 0.5% rise

HOME SALES RISE, HOUSING STARTS FALL January brought a 0.4% improvement in existing home sales, even as the inventory of properties for sale hit a 93-month low. The National Association of Realtors reported a 25% year-over-year decline in existing home inventory, which hasn’t been seen since December 1999. The median sales price was $173,600 last

RETAIL SALES RISE IN JANUARY The increase was minimal – just 0.1% after the 0.5% advance in December – but still welcome in the face of the 2013 payroll tax hike and higher gas prices. Commerce Department data showed core retail sales (which exclude auto, gas and home improvement purchases) up 0.1% for January; they

A SOLID EARNINGS SEASON By Friday, nearly 70%of the firms in the S&P 500 had announced quarterly results – and so far, so good. Thomson Reuters data shows that 66% of these companies have beaten revenue projections, and nearly 70% have surpassed earnings forecasts compared to 65% over the previous four quarters. As it stands

MORE HIRING … AND YET, MORE UNEMPLOYMENT In January, the jobless rate ticked up to 7.9%. The Labor Department countered that with some good news: 127,000 more workers were hired across November and December than previously thought. Last month, 157,000 new jobs were created.1 EXAMINING CONSUMER BAROMETERS According to the Commerce Department, personal spending rose