No Commentary This Week — Back next week
February 21, 2020 Traveling this week. Back early next week. Stephen Slifer NumberNomics Charleston, S.C.
Corona Virus – Little Impact on the U.S.
February 14, 2020 News about the number of reported cases of the corona virus and the number of deaths attributed to it change daily. Because China is the world’s second largest economy there is no doubt that Chinese GDP growth will be slashed in the first quarter...
Consumer Sentiment
February 14, 2020 The final estimate of consumer sentiment for February rose 1.1 points to 100.9, just missing the peak level for the cycle which was 101.4 in March of 2018. Surveys of Consumers Chief Economist Richard Curtin said, "Net gains in household income...
Industrial Production
February 14, 2020 Industrial production fell 0.3% in January after having declined 0.4% December. During the past year industrial production has fallen 0.8%, but one year ago it was climbing at a 3.6% pace. Breaking industrial production down into its three major...
Retail Sales
February 14, 2020 Retail sales rose 0.3% in December after having climbed 0.2%in November, and December. During the past year retail sales have risen 4,4%. Sometimes sales can be distorted by changes in autos and gasoline both of which can be quite volatile. In...
Consumer Price Index
February 13, 2000 .The CPI rose 0.1% in January after having risen 0.2% in October, November, and December. During 2019 the CPI rose 2.3%. Food prices rose 0.2% in both December and January. Food prices have risen 1.7% in the past twelve months. These prices...
Homeownership Rates
February 12, 2020 .Home ownership rose 0.3% in the fourth quarter of last year to 65.1% after having climbed 0.7% in the third quarter. It hit a low of 62.9% in the second quarter of 2016 but has risen considerably in the past 2-1/2 years. The upswing in home...
Unemployment vs. Job Openings
February 11, 2020 .The Labor Department reported that job openings fell 5.4% in December to 6,423 thousand after having declined 7.8% in November. The biggest drop in job openings was in the transportation category so one wonders whether the G.M. strike and the...
Small Business Optimism
February 11, 2020 Small business optimism climbed 1.6 points in January to 104.3 after having declined 2.0 points in December. The August 2018 level of 108.8 broke the previous record high level of 108.0 set 35 years ago back in July 1983. The current level of...
Potential Growth on the Rise
February 7, 2019 What seems to differentiate our relatively optimistic view of the economy from that of other economists is that we believe the economic speed limit has accelerated The fourth quarter increase in productivity suggests we are on the right track ...
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