Industrial Production

January 17, 2025 Industrial production jumped 0.9% in December after having risen 0.2% in November.  The Fed reported that gains in the output of aircraft and parts contributed 0.2% to total IP growth in December following the resolution of the Boeing strike.  In the...

Housing Starts

January 17, 2025 Housing starts jumped 15.8% in December to 1,499 thousand after  having declined 3,7% in November.  The increase consisted of a 3.3% increase in single-family homes and a whopping 58.9% increase in the very volatile multi-family category.  With big...

Homebuilder Confidence

January 16, 2025 This series rose 1 point in January to 47 after having been unchanged in December and  having risen 3 points in November.  The recent gains seem to reflect hope that the Trump administration will cut a lot of the red tape that has been impeding the...

Retail Sales

January 16, 2025 Retail sales rose 0.4% in December after climbing 0.8% in November, 0.6% in October, and 0.9% in September.  In the past year retail sales have risen 3.7%. Motor vehicle sales climbed by 0.7% in December after having jumped  3.1% in November and 2.2%...

Initial Unemployment Claims

January 15, 2025 Initial unemployment claims rose 14 thousand in the week ending January 11 to 217 thousand after declining 8 thousand in the previous week.   This series has changed very little in the past nine months.  The 4-week average of claims was 210 thousand...

Consumer Price Index

January 15, 2025 The CPI rose 0.4% in December after climbing 0.3% in November and 0.2% in October. The year-over-year increase (for 2024) is 2.9%.  We now expect the overall CPI to increase 2.9% in 2025. Food prices rose 0.3% in December after gaining 0.4% in...