by sslifer | Apr 3, 2024 | NumberNomics Notes, Purchasing Managers Index
April 3, 2024 The Institute for Supply Management not only publishes an index of manufacturing activity each month, they publish two days later a survey of service sector firms. The business activity index rose 0.2 point in March to 57.4 after climbing 1.4 points in...
by sslifer | Mar 29, 2024 | Consumer
March 29, 2024 Personal consumption expenditures jumped 0.8% in February after having risen 0.2% in January and 0.6% in December. The consumer is still willing to spend despite worries about inflation and the pace of Fed tightening. What we are really interested in...
by sslifer | Mar 28, 2024 | Consumer, NumberNomics Notes
March 28, 2024 The .final estimate of consumer sentiment for March rose 2.5 points to 79.4 compared to the preliminary estimate which showed a decline of 0.5 point. Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said, “.Critically, consumers exhibited confidence that...
by sslifer | Mar 22, 2024 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
March 22, 2024 The Federal Reserve has indicated that it is likely to cut the fed funds rate three times in 2024 which would reduce the funds rate from its current level of 5.5% to 4.75% by yearend. But those three rate reductions are the tip of the iceberg. The...
by sslifer | Mar 15, 2024 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
March 15, 2024 We have written frequently about how the Fed’s temporary run-up in inflation turned out not to be temporary. Because wages have not kept pace with the jump in prices, consumer purchasing power has been reduced. This has soured consumer attitudes...
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