Initial Unemployment Claims

April 25, 2024 Initial unemployment claims fell 5 thousand in  the week ending April 20 to 207,000 after being  unchanged in the previous week.   The economy is strong enough and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.  No need to start laying off people. The...

Durable Goods Orders

April 24, 2034 Durable goods orders rose 2.6% in March after rising 0.7% in February, but plunging 6.9% in December. While very volatile on a monthly basis, they have risen a modest 1.3% in the past year. Much of the change in durables is frequently in the...

New Home Sales

April 23, 2024 New home sales jumped 8.8% in March to 693 thousand after having fallen 5.1% in February,   New home sales reached a low point in the middle of last year, but have risen somewhat since then.. Existing home sales are being constrained by a lack of...

Nobody Knows!

  April 19, 2024 Economic forecasts have been notably inaccurate for the past couple of  years.    Virtually every economist expected a recession in the second half of last year.  But growth for the year was a solid 3.1%.  Most economists expected the inflation...

Existing Home Sales

April 18, 2024 . Existing home sales declined 4.3% in March to 4,190 thousand after having jumped 9.5% in February  Sales had been falling for almost two years as the combination of sharply higher mortgage rates and higher home prices took their toll   But with the...