Data Flash: US March Confidence Falls; Social Distance Rules, Coverage Rage On

-Conference Board’s Measure Echoes Michigan Sentiment By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Conference Board’s U.S. consumer confidence index fell in March to a reading of 120.0 from 132.6 in February, another indication that COVID-19 had severely impacted the psyche of consumers in just a few weeks, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. The report, based […]

Data Flash: February Real PCE Up 0.1%, But March Plunge to Come

–US February Personal Income Up 0.6%, Nominal PCE Up 0.2%, Core Prices +0.2% –U.S. March Michigan Sentiment Index Revised Down to 89.1 By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Real Personal Consumption Expenditures rose by 0.1% in February, a second straight gain and a positive for first quarter consumption and GDP, the Commerce Department reported Friday. […]

WHITE HOUSE WATCH: GRUESOME VIRUS DEVELOPMENTS HARDLY NEWS ANY MORE

By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Virus infection cases kept multiplying Thursday, death tolls kept going up, more governors and mayors ignored President Trump’s dream of packed churches on Easter and the U.S. kept mostly ignoring the kind of contact tracing that slowed the virus to a crawl elsewhere. By one count the U.S number […]

DATA FLASH: US INITIAL CLAIMS SOAR AS MILLIONS LAID OFF; MORE TO COME

–Initial Claims Jump by 3.001 Mln To Record 3.283 Mln By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – With millions laid off in the March 21 due to business shutdowns, initial jobless claims surged to a record high level in Thursday’s data, and are likely to go further as displaced workers sign up for benefits and any […]

DATA FLASH: US FEB DURABLE GOODS ORDERS +1.2%

–FHFA Home Price Index +0.3% By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – US durable goods new orders rose solidly in February, but the headline number was almost entirely driven by a transportation surge, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Orders rose by 1.2% (-0.6% expected) in February but were down 0.6% (-0.3% expected) when a 4.6% jump […]

WHITE HOUSE WATCH: ‘DIFFICULT TRADEOFFS;’ UNPRECEDENTED QE; ACCELERATING INFECTION

–US Fatalities Top 100 in One Day For First Time –Phase 3 Congressional Help Days Away At Best –Federal Reserve Goes Big, Bigger, Biggest By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Americans who in even greater numbers are staying at home Monday were suddenly being asked to choose between two virus scenarios, one espoused by medical […]

FED’S EVANS: POLICY REVIEW INCLUDES MAXIMUM RATE OF EMPLOYMENT

By Suzanne Cosgrove CHICAGO (MaceNews) – Chicago Fed President Charles Evans Thursday said the Fed is continuing to review measures of its dual goals of price stability and maximum employment as part of an examination of its policy framework begun late last year. “One of the key questions facing us today is whether the economy […]

US JOBS RPT SHOWS WAGE GROWTH SLOWS EVEN AS UNEMP RATE IMPROVES

By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The September jobs report Friday, with 136,000 payroll slots added, was modestly positive for hiring and the 50-year-low unemployment rate of 3.5% was everything a labor market economist could hope for, yet there was a shadow cast overall, a slowing of wage growth that suggested prosperity is ebbing. Manufacturing […]

US JOBS REPORT A LITTLE SHORT OF BREATH BUT STILL JOGGING

–Workweek Rebounds; No Additional Wage Acceleration; Labor Participation Back to February By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The August jobs report Friday had some bright spots amid a somewhat subdued landscape, with the three-month average payrolls growth slowed to 156,000 even with a new and sizable injection of Census workers. The brightest spot was the […]

TECHNICAL NOTE, US REVISED 2ND QTR GDP – US BEA

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) –  The following is the Bureau of Economic Analysis technical note that accompanied Thursday’s revised report on second quarter gross domestic product: Sources of Revision to Real GDP Real GDP increased 2.0 percent (annual rate) in the second quarter of 2019, a downward revision of 0.1 percentage point from the “advance” estimate. The […]