DATA FLASH: US MAY RETAIL SALES SURGE BY 17.7% ON REOPENINGS

–Retail Sales Excluding Motor Vehicles Rose 12.4%; Vehicle Sales Surge 44.1%–Industrial Production Rose 1.4%, Motor Vehicle Production Rebounds by 120.8%–NAHB Index Jump To 58 in June From 37 in May, Suggests Stronger Home Building Ahead–Business Inventories Down 1.3% in April, Business Sales Down 14.4% By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – As social distancing eased in […]

DATA PREVIEW: PROTESTS COMPLICATE FOMC STATEMENT AMID RECOVERY

By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – After the May employment report showed slight improvement after the overwhelmingly negative April report, the attention in the week ahead turns to the monthly U.S. inflation reports and Wednesday’s FOMC meeting, as well as the first look at June consumer confidence. The FOMC meets Tuesday and Wednesday at a […]

DATA FLASH: US MAY PAYROLLS RISE BY 2.5 MLN, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 13.3%

–Employ Data Still Show Considerable COVID Impact Even as Data Turns Up–Food Services, Retail, Medical Jobs Lead Gain; Hourly Earnings -1.0%   By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The May employment report showed further impact of the COVID-19 shutdown, but there was no question that the surprisingly positive data point to a turning point after […]

USTR LIGHTHIZER CASTS CHINA RELATIONSHIP IN ROSY HUES

–Doing OK in Adherence to Phase 1 Commitments –China Pullback in Ag Purchases ‘Not True.’ NEW YORK (MaceNews) – President Trump’s top trade negotiator Thursday cast U.S.-China relations, at least in his sphere, in unexpectedly positive terms and called reports of a setback in purchases of U.S. soybeans perhaps the result of “disinformation.” U.S. Trade […]

DATA FLASH: US MANUFACTURING CONTRACTION SLOWED IN MAY

-April Construction Spending Declined, As Suggested by Housing Data By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The May ISM index Monday showed U.S. manufacturing sector activity contracted further, but at a slower pace, in line with the regional and Markit data. Survey respondents in the ISM report noted while COVID-19 continues to weigh heavily on business […]

DATA FLASH: US INITIAL CLAIMS SLOW FURTHER; DURABLE GOODS ORDERS PLUNGE

–Initial Claims – 323,000 to 2.123 Mln; 37.2 Mln  Total Under COVID–Durable Goods New Orders  -17.2%; Shipments -17.7%–Q1 GDP Revised Down To -5.0% Vs -4.8%, PCE -6.8% By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The U.S. data released earlier Thursday offered few surprises, with the level of initial claims continuing to slide, durable goods orders down […]

FED’S BEIGE BK: SEVERE DISRUPTIONS CONTINUE; NO QUICK RECOVERY SEEN

–Some Recent Improvement in Autos –Not Seeing Full Hirebacks WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book survey of economic activity across the country Wednesday chronicled the continuing – and in some regions, deepening – severe disruption caused by the pandemic with some Districts finding low expectations for a quick rebound and complete rehirings. […]

DATA FLASH: US MAY CONFIDENCE STOPS SLIDE; NEW HOMES UP

–Dallas Manufacturing Reading in Line with Other Regional Data By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Conference Board’s U.S. consumer confidence index rose slightly to a reading of 86.6 in May from a downward revised 85.7 reading in April, stopping the slide at two months but leaving the index well below the recent peak in […]

DATA PREVIEW: US REGIONAL DATA, CONFIDENCE KEY RELEASES

By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The May 25 week starts off with the Memorial Day holiday, but it quickly speeds up from there. Regional conditions data for May are the highlight of the week, with reports from the Philadelphia, Dallas, Richmond and Kansas City Federal Reserve banks and the Chicago PMI on tap ahead […]

DATA FLASH: US APRIL RETAIL SALES DOWN 16.4% AS CRISIS CONTINUED

–Non-store Retail Sales Rose 8.4%, Other Categories Down–Empire State Index Rose to -48.5 in May from -78.2 in April–Industrial Production -11.2%, Manufacturing -13.7% on Vehicles By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Social distancing continued in April, cutting further in almost every retail sale category, data released Friday morning showed. At the same time, industrial production […]