Do Not Worry About the Dollar’s Slide
September 18, 2020 The dollar has been declining for the past several months. Some economists suggest that the decline reflects concern about the yawning budget deficit which will widen to $3,3 trillion this year and the associated increase in Treasury debt...
Homebuilder Confidence
September 16, 2020 Homebuilder confidence climbed 5 points in September to a record high level of 83 after having risen 6 points in August, 14 points in July, 21 points in June and 7 points in May, after having plunged by 42 points in April which was the biggest...
Retail Sales
September 16, 2020 Retail sales climbed by 0.7% in August after having risen 0.9% in July, 8.6% in June, and having surged by 18.3% in May, but after having plunged 14.7% in April and 8.2% in March. What is truly amazing is that the level of sales has not only...
Industrial Production
September 15, 2020 Industrial production rose 0.4% in August which was less than expected, but there were significant upward revisions in the previous two months, July revised upwards from an increase of 3.0% itp 3/5%. June revised higher from 5.7% to 6.1%. As...
The Deficit Explodes — But Who Cares?
September 11, 2020 The Congressional Budget Office recently released its updated 10-year budget forecast. The budget deficit for the current fiscal year will be $3.3 trillion. It remains in excess of $1.0 trillion every year between now and 2030. Each year that...
9/11 Remembered
As I sit here at my desk this morning, I remember that I was doing the same thing at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001 -- sitting in my Lehman Brothers office on the 10th floor of the American Express Tower of the World Financial Center checking the screens trying to...
Consumer Price Index
September ll, 2020 . The CPI rose 0.4% in August after climbing 0.6% in both June and July, but having declined 0.1% in May, 0..8% in April, and 0.4% in March. The CPI excluding the volatile food and energy prices rose 0.4% in August after gaining 0.6% in July and...
Producer Price Index
September 10, 2020 The Producer Price Index for final demand - intermediate 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...
Initial Unemployment Claims
September 10, 2020 .Initial unemployment claims for the week of September 5 was unchanged at 884 thousand after having decline 127 thousand and 93 thousand in the two previous weeks. Claims have fallen steadily since reaching a peak of 6,867 thousand in the week...
Unemployment vs. Job Openings
September 9, 2020 The Labor Department reported that job openings rose 10.3% in July to 6,619 thousand after climbing 11.7% in June and 7.5% in May, but after having declined 16.9% in April and 14.2% in March. As the economic expansion gathers momentum the...
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