US JUNE PAYROLLS +224K, CONFOUNDING FORECASTERS AND IMPERILING RATE CUT
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The carefully wrought July rate-cut scenario is now challenged by the blockbuster 224,000 surprise payrolls total for June, with Friday’s report pitting economic pessimists against prospects for renewed strength for the longest U.S expansion in history. Many forecasters who were confounded by a return to 200,000 plus payrolls growth […]
FED’S MESTER: U.S. Q2 SLOWDOWN NOT SUFFICIENT TO TRIGGER RATE CUT
By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – While U.S. growth appears to have weakened over the second quarter, the current slowdown is insufficient to trigger a reduction in interest rates, according to Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester. “Given the current level of the funds rate and my current baseline outlook,” interest rates represent an “appropriate […]
CANADA’S PACE OF INFLATION INCREASES IN MAY
By Gordon Isfeld OTTAWA (MaceNews) – Prices for Canadian goods surged in May, with the overall cost of consumer items jumping by 2.4% annualized- up from 2.0% in April – and marking the biggest year-over-year increase since October of last year, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. The gains in consumer costs were led by food items, which […]
FISCAL YTD US BUDGET DEFICIT $739 BLN, +39% VS FY 2018
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The U.S budget deficit in May of $207.8 billion at first glance is a record for any May and on second glance, after figuring in $55 billion in benefit payments shifted into the month because June 1 was a Saturday, it becomes a less scary$159 billion. The Treasury Department reported Wednesday that […]
US MAY CPI QUIESCENT AT +0.1%; SHELTER DECELERATES
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – May’s U.S. CPI report Wednesday had no surprises, with an as-expected 0.1% increase both overall – for a 1.8% over-the-year consumer inflation rate – and for the core rate, with a deceleration in the category with the single biggest weighting, shelter. The annualized rate for core items, other than food and energy, […]
CANADA JOB GROWTH SLOWS IN MAY; UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS
By Gordon Isfeld OTTAWA (MaceNews) – The Canadian economy continued to churn out jobs in May, adding 27,700 positions, but that was at a weaker pace than the previous month, as the number of people looking for work declined. The jobless rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 5.4 per cent in May as fewer people […]
MAY US WAGES DECELERATE; MFG/CONSTRUCTION NEARLY FLAT
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The unexciting May jobs report, though no disaster, reinforced the perception of trend deterioration Friday, with the deceleration in earnings the leading negative, followed by the lifeless manufacturing and construction numbers. Total payrolls growth was well below expectations with its 75,000 increase, while revisions to March and April subtracted 75,000 jobs from […]
CANADIAN ECONOMY EDGES UP IN Q1
By Gordon Isfeld OTTAWA (MaceNews) – Canada’s economy edged up by a meager 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, matching the fourth-quarter growth of the previous year, with the weak performance gain coming mainly from higher household spending and investments in machine and equipment, even as exports struggled. That translates into an […]
STILL FACING CANADA FINANCIAL ‘VULNERABILITIES’
By Gordon Isfeld OTTAWA (MaceNews) – Canada’s financial system continues to face “vulnerabilities” related to household debt and “imbalances” in the country’s residential markets, even as regulators continue to tighten guidelines in mortgage lending. “New measures have curbed borrowing, reduced speculative behaviour in housing markets and made the financial system more resilient,” the Bank of Canada […]
CANADIAN CONSUMER PRICES RISE 2.0% Y/Y IN APRIL
By Gordon Isfeld OTTAWA (MaceNews) – The prices of consumer goods in Canada rose by 2% annualized in April, up from a pace of 1.9% in the previous month, with seven of the eight key readings tracked by Statistics Canada Wednesday driving the overall increases. The core rate showed no change for the first time since December. […]