Homebuilder Confidence
January 20, 2021 .Homebuilder confidence declined 3points in January to 83 after having fallen 4 points in December. But the last two months it has fallen slightly from a 35-year old record high level of 90 set in October. It was at 74 in February prior to the...
What Dire Economic Crisis?
January 15, 2021 The virus continues to spread rapidly. Both the labor market and the economy softened somewhat in November and December. But that hardly seems consistent with the economic crisis described by President-elect Joe Biden in his speech on Thursday. ...
Consumer Sentiment
January 15, 2021 . The preliminary estimate of consumer confidence for January fell 1.5 points to 79.2 after having risen 3.8 points in December. Consumer sentiment has been flopping around in a narrow range for the past several months. It remains well below the...
Industrial Production
January 15, 2021 Industrial production jumped 1.6% in December after having risen 0.5% in November and 1.0% in October,. The nation's production sector continues to recover. However, as shown below, production is still 3.3% below where it was in February -- prior...
Retail Sales
January 15, 2021 Retail sales fell fell 0.7% in December after having declined 1.4% in November and 0.1% in October. The drop in sales in November and December reflects smaller-than-normal Christmas sales as the virus began to spread more rapidly and some states...
Initial Unemployment Claims
January 14, 2021 .Initial unemployment claims for the week of January 9 rose 181 thousand to 965 thousand after having risen 2 thousand in the previous week. After reaching a peak of 6,867 thousand at the end of March initial claims had been steadily declining. ...
Consumer Debt Service Ratio
January 13, 2021 Consumers debt service payments relative to income was essentially unchanged in the fourth quarter at a near-record low of 9.1% for a series that stretches back to 1980 -- 41 years ago! The household debt service ratio is an estimate of the ratio...
Consumer Net Worth
January 13, 2021 .Consumer net worth rose $3.6 trillion in the third quarter. That works out to an annualized rate of increase of 12.8% which follows a 29.8% increase in the second quarter. Over the past year consumer net worth has increased 7.5%. The growth in...
M-2
January 13, 2021 When banks lend to consumers and businesses, they put the proceeds into a checking account. At that point the money supply begins to grow. In November M-2 grew at a 217.5% annual rate. In the past year it has grown by a record-shattering 25.1%....
Consumer Price Index
January 13, 2021 The CPI rose 0.4% in December after having risen 0.2% in November. It rose1.3% in 2020. Food prices rebounded by 0.3% in December after having fallen 0.1% in November. In the past year food prices have risen 3.8%. Energy prices jumped 4.0% in...
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