US SEPT JOBS RPT A MIXED PICTURE ON WAGES, WORKFORCE
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The jobs news from September continued on an exceptionally good path Friday yet an increasingly fretful economic picture a week into October suggested the context may be shifting, as interest rates climb, the Nasdaq loses steam and analysts nitpick Federal Reserve policy. The new 3.7% unemployment rate, atypically large […]
FED’S POWELL: TRADE SPATS A POTENTIAL RISK FACTOR
By Adam Smith BOSTON (MaceNews) – Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, during a speech in Boston Tuesday, painted a rosy picture of the U.S. economy and downplayed concern that low unemployment will lead to accelerated inflation. But during a question and answer session following his speech to the NABE, Powell warned that a trade war and […]
FOMC DELIVERS EXPECTED QTR POINT HIKE AND #4 READY
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee Wednesday delivered its expected quarter-point rate hike and signaled a fourth is ready to go this year – removing the “accommodative” language in the process. The “dot plot” of participant expectations sketched a growth spurt under way, revised up slightly to 3.1% for GDP this year, but […]
US RETAIL SALES WEAK IN AUGUST; PRICE CUTS A FACTOR
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – U.S. retail sales were weak in August after adjustment for recurring seasonal trends, the Commerce Department reported Friday, a lull that was easily dismissed as temporary by most analysts but which came amid many signs of continuing fundamental weakness for the retail industry. The advance retail sales estimate by […]
US Tsy: August Added $214 Bln To National Debt
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The U.S. Treasury reported Thursday that August’s federal budget was in deficit by $214.1 billion and the total for 11 months of the government’s fiscal year is a deficit of $898.1 billion, another step on the path to trillion dollar annual deficits forecast for the beginning of the next […]
US CPI/PPI NOT EXACTLY A REFLATION SCRIPT
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – While not dramatically decelerating, two main measures of U.S. inflation are registering a surprising pause in their acceleration that is coupled to anecdotal reports of renewed widespread price cuts. Thursday’s Consumer Price Index for August, up 0.2%, showed an annual rate after seasonal adjustment of 2.7% – despite the […]
ECB CONFIRMS WINDING DOWN QE YEAR-END
By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank Thursday confirmed plans to wind down its quantitative easing programme by year end, despite signs of a slowdown in euro zone industrial activity toward the end of the summer. The 0.8% slump in industrial production recorded in July represented a “sign of convergence of the […]
FED’S BEIGE BK: TRADE TENSIONS BUT NO DANGER SIGNS
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book survey of economy conditions Wednesday reflected the usual “moderate” pace of expansion but this time included explicit concerns about trade tensions and their potential dampening effect on capital investment. There were signs the residential real estate market is being forced into a better balance of supply and […]
FOMC MINUTES: ‘SOON’ TO SEE ANOTHER RATE HIKE
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The minutes of the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting published Wednesday showed participants assumed it would be time for another rate hike “soon,” reinforcing the expectation in place for months that it would come at the FOMC session next month. In addition, “many” participants opined that it may “fairly soon” […]
US HOUSING MKT FLAWS DEEPEN; JULY EXISTING HM SALES -0.7%
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – U.S home resales overall dropped for the fourth month in July though high-end sales were booming just as they are for high-end new homes, as reflected in this week’s run-up for the shares of builders benefiting from higher house prices fueled by the strong demand they can’t meet. The […]