Despite Recent Budget Improvement, Trouble Lies Ahead
August 12, 2022 The recently passed “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) is being hailed by President Biden, Democrats, and climate supporters as a game changer. It will allegedly reduce inflation, shrink the deficit, reduce carbon emissions and improve our climate. ...
Poised to Accelerate
August 12, 2022 The markets survived the recession scare in the first two quarters of this year. However, they remain convinced that the peak in interest rates is not too far distant. Thus, they believe that growth will have slowed enough, and inflation will have...
Producer Price Index
August 11, 2022 The Producer Price Index for final demand includes producer prices for goods, as well as prices for construction, services, government purchases, and exports and covers over 75% of domestic production. Producer prices for final demand fell 0.5% in...
Initial Unemployment Claims
August 11, 2022 Initial unemployment claims rose 14 thousand in t he week ending August 6 to 262 thousand after climbing 11 thousand in the previous week. The level has been rising slowly but steadily since reaching a low of 170 thousand in early April. That...
Gasoline Prices
August 10, 2022 Gasoline prices fell $0.15 in the week ending August 8 to $4.04 after having fallen $0.14 in the previous week. Prices have now fallen $0.97 since reaching a peak in mid-June. In South Carolina gasoline prices tend to about $0.25 below the...
Consumer Price Index
August 10, 2022 The CPI was unchanged in July after having jumped 1.3% in June and climbing 1.0% in May. It rose 1.3% in 2020, and 7.1% in 2021. The year-over-year increase now stands at 8.5% and we expect the CPI to increase 8.1% in 2022. Swings in energy...
Nonfarm Productivity
August 9, 2022 Non-farm productivity fell 4.6% in the second quarter after having plunged by 7.4% in the first quarter. The second quarter decline consisted of a 2.1% decline in output combined with a 2.6% increase in hours worked. Hence, a 4.6% decline in...
Unit Labor Costs
August 9, 2022 Unit labor costs might be a term that is not familiar to you. Unit labor costs represent the increase in compensation adjusted for the gains in productivity. You might think that if labor costs are rising that would put upward pressure on...
Hourly Compensation
August 9, 2022 The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that hourly compensation rose 5.7% in the second quarter after rising 4.4% in the first quarter. In the past year compensation has risen at a 6,7% pace. Growth in hourly compensation is a good thing, but...
Small Business Optimism
August 9, 2022 . Small business optimism rose 0.4 point in July to 89.9 after have fallen 3.6 points in June. NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg said, “The uncertainty in the small business sector is climbing again as owners continue to manage historic...
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