Construction Spending

March 3, 2025 Construction spending (the green bars above) fell 0.2% in January after having risen 0.5% in December and 0.4% in November.  After rising in each of the past three months, construction spending took a breather in January.  But given the snowy, icy, and...

Employment Cost Index

January 31, 2025 The employment cost index for civilian workers climbed at a 3.6% annual rate in the fourth quarter after climbing at a 3.1% annual rate in the third quarter.    Over the course of the past year it has risen 3.8%. The employment cost index peaked at...

Fed Funds Rate

May 10, 2024 . The federal funds rate is the overnight rate that banks charge each other to borrow/lend  reserves.  Some banks have more reserves than they need.  Others (principally large banks) are short of reserves and must borrow from other banks in the system,...

Consumer Net Worth

April 4, 2024 .Consumer net worth jumped 12.8% in the fourth quarter of last year. after declining 3.7% in the third quarter  Over the past year consumer net worth has increased 8.0%. The growth in net worth reflects both the steady increase in stock prices during the...

Consumer Debt Service Ratio

April 4, 2024 Consumers debt service payments relative to income rose somewhat in the fourth quarter to 9.8%,  .Consumer debt in relation to income is slightly higher than it was a couple of quarters ago as the result of a rapid increase in credit card debt.  But the...