CHECKING IN ON THE CONSUMER According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending improved 0.3% in May as consumer incomes increased 0.5%. The latest household sentiment polls seemed to reflect the good news. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence gauge hit 81.4 in June, the best mark since January 2008; the University of Michigan’s final June survey […]
Growth Report for Monday, July 1, 2013 Read More
FED OUTLINES END FOR STIMULUS, STOCKS SLIP Last Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke shared the central bank’s vision for winding down its current aggressive easing effort – the potential tapering of QE3 by late 2013, and the end of the program by mid-2014 if economic conditions permit. Wall Street reacted abruptly – the Dow
Growth Report for Monday, June 24, 2013 Read More
IMF: FED SHOULD WAIT 6 MONTHS TO TAPER QE3 On Friday, the International Monetary Fund called for the Federal Reserve to keep easing at current levels at least until the end of 2013 and to carefully manage any exit from QE3. In its annual review of the U.S. economy, the IMF characterized the March 1
Growth Report for June 17, 2013 Read More
A REASSURING JOBS REPORT A jittery Wall Street liked the big picture it saw in the Labor Department’s May employment report. The economy added 175,000 jobs last month: decent hiring growth, not dismaying to investors, yet not impressive enough to signal the Federal Reserve to taper off QE3. Economists polled by Bloomberg forecast payrolls rising
Growth Report for Monday, June 10, 2013 Read More
CONSUMERS UPBEAT IN MAY, SPEND LESS IN APRIL Consumer spending slipped 0.2% in April, with a 4.4% drop in purchases of gas, electricity and other energy goods and services being a major influence. In better news, the Commerce Department noted a 3.4% rise in personal spending in Q1, and the two most-watched consumer confidence gauges
Growth Report for Monday, June 3, 2013 Read More
APRIL DATA AFFIRMS HOUSING REBOUND Last month brought a 2.3% gain in new home sales and an 0.6% increase in existing home sales. Distressed properties (short sales and foreclosures) represented only 18% of residential resales in April, the National Association of Realtors noted; compare that with 28% of sales in April 2012. NAR also announced
Growth Report for Monday, May 28, 2013 Read More
SUBDUED INFLATION IN APRIL Consumer and producer prices retreated last month. The federal government’s Consumer Price Index fell 0.4%, a monthly descent unseen since December 2008; the Producer Price Index declined 0.7%, its biggest monthly drop in three years. Consumer prices also fell for a second straight month; the last time that happened was in
Growth Report for Monday, May 20, 2013 Read More
HOW IS THIS EARNINGS SEASON TURNING OUT? At the closing bell on May 10, 90% of S&P 500 firms had reported quarterly results. According to Reuters, 67% of them have surpassed earnings forecasts and 24% have fallen short of projections. Should the remaining 50 components report results matching estimates, earnings will be up 5.3% on
Growth Report for Monday, May 13, 2013 Read More
UNEMPLOYMENT EDGES DOWN TO 7.5% April brought a rebound in hiring. Employers added 165,000 jobs, and so the unemployment rate reached a four-year low. (The Labor Department also revised March’s job gains upward to 138,000.) Payrolls have now expanded by an average of 189,000 jobs a month during the last six months.1 CONSUMER SPENDING, OUTLOOK
Growth Report for Monday, May 6, 2013 Read More
Q1 GDP COMES IN AT 2.5% The initial estimate of first quarter growth from the Bureau of Economic Analysis disappointed some analysts who had expected 3% expansion or better. Personal consumption and inventory accumulation were the prime sources of growth. Personal spending rose 3.2% in the quarter, but real disposable personal income fell 5.3%, which
Growth Report for Monday, April 29, 2013 Read More
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