Initial Unemployment Claims
October 17, 2019 Initial unemployment claims rose 4 thousand in the week ending October 12 to 214 thousand. The four-week average of claims rose 1 thousand to 215 thousand. The 4-week average for the week of April 13 of 202 thousand was the lowest for the current...
2020 Economic Outlook Conference
2020 Economic Outlook Conference In times of uncertainty whether you are running a business or planning your investments, knowledge can be your most valuable asset. Stephen Slifer, Owner and Chief Economist at NumberNomics will provide insight...
The Budget Deficit — Upward Forever
October 11, 2019 The budget deficit for fiscal 2019 is now in the book. It jumped from $779 billion in 2018 to $984 billion. The only good news is that it managed to stay below the $1.0 trillion level. Unfortunately, that is the last time that will happen. ...
Consumer Sentiment
October 11, 2019 The preliminary estimate of consumer sentiment for October rose by 2.8 points to 96.0 after having risen 3.4 points in September. While volatile on a month-to-month basis consumer sentiment remains at a lofty level. The peak for the cycle was...
GDP, Inflation, and Interest Rate Forecasts
October 10, 2019 The final estimate of second quarter GDP growth came in at 2.0% after having risen 3.1% in the first quarter. For the year as a whole we anticipate 2.5% GDP growth after having risen 2.5% in 2018. We expect GDP growth to remain steady at 2.4% in...
Consumer Price Index
October 10, 2019 The CPI was unchanged in September after having risen 0.1% in August and 0.3% in July.. During the past year the CPI has risen 1.7%. Food prices rose 0.5% in September after having been unchanged in August. Food prices have risen 2.2% in the past...
S&P 500 Stock Prices
October 9, 2019 The stock market has been volatile throughout 2019. Many economists worry about slower growth overseas particularly in China which is the world's second largest economy. They also note considerable weakness in the U.S. manufacturing sector caused...
Unemployment vs. Job Openings
October 9, 2019 The Labor Department reported that job openings fell 1.7% in August to 7,051 thousand after falling 1.0% in July. Job openings seem to be bouncing around from month to month at a very elevated level. Indeed, there are far more job openings today...
Gasoline Prices
October 9, 2019 Gasoline prices at the retail level rose $0.01 in the week ending October 7 to $2.65 per gallon. In South Carolina gasoline prices tend to about $0.25 below the national average or about $2.40. The Department of Energy expects national gasoline...
Trade-Weighted Dollar
October 8, 2019 The trade-weighted value of the dollar, which represents the value of the dollar against the currencies of a broad group of U.S. trading partners has risen 4.0% from where it was at this time last year. When you try to figure out the impact of...
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