GDP

November 29, 2023 . The preliminary estimate of third quarter GDP growth was 5.2% compared to the initial estimate of 4.9 %.  That compares to a 2.1% increase in the second quarter.  The economy may be slowing down but there was little evidence of that in the third...

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Final Sales

November 29, 2023 When the economy is slowing down, firms will accumulate unwanted inventories.   Those inventories still show up in GDP, but they are unsold.  Hence, GDP will be biased upwards.  Similarly, in good times businesses will reduce inventory levels to...

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Final Sales to Domestic Purchasers

November 29, 2023 It is important to remember that final sales is a measure of how many domestically produced goods are sold each quarter.  But we also sell goods overseas -- our exports.   And we purchase goods from other countries -- our imports. In the...

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Corporate Profits

November 29, 2023 Corporate profits from current production (corporate profits before tax with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments) rose by $105.6 billion in the third quarter which works out to an annualized rate of increase of 3.3% after after...

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Consumer Confidence

November 28 , 2023 . The Conference Board reported that consumer confidence rose 2.9 points in November to 102.0 after  having fallen 5.2 points in October.  Confidence has been bumping along at roughly this same level for a year. Chief Economist at the Conference...

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New Home Sales

November 27, 2023 New home sales fell 5.6% in October to 679 thousand after having jumped 8.6% in September.   While obviously volatile on a month-to-month basis, new home sales reached a low point in the middle of last year, but have risen somewhat since then...

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Consumer Sentiment

November 22,, 2023 The final  estimate of consumer sentiment for November fell 2.5 points to 61.3 after declining 4.1 points in October.  In fact, this is the fourth consecutive decline in sentiment which reached a peak in July at 71.6. Surveys of Consumers...

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