Weekly Economic Updates

Slower Can Be Better Than Faster On Tuesday, June 25, the Commerce Department lowered its estimate of first quarter GDP growth to 1.8% annualized. This was down from the 2.4% rise it previously reported. After this news, the market reversed… Read More

The twenty-city S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index (which is the leading index for the U.S. residential housing market – tracking changes in the value of residential real estate) saw a 10.9% rise in home prices in the twelve months ending in… Read More

Last week Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, made an important comment about how much longer he will continue the aggressive bond buying program known as Quantitative Easing. While testifying before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee he said the… Read More

The preliminary Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (which gives a snapshot of consumer expectations regarding the overall economy) increased to 83.7 this month. This is up from 76.4 in April, and is the highest figure since July 2007. This gain in… Read More

The S&P 500 achieved a record high last week of 1633, driven by better-than-forecast first quarter earnings. The “beat rate” – the percentage of companies that are posting numbers better than consensus – was 69% this quarter, higher than the… Read More

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States-advanced at an annual rate of 2.5% from January through March. The numbers paint a story similar to previous quarters: consumer spending and… Read More

US housing starts in March rose 47% from the prior year, topping 1 million for the first time since 2008. The gains were driven by strength in apartment construction, which offset a decline in single-family units. Apartment construction rose 82%… Read More

The Federal Reserve will likely continue its easy-money policy at least through the middle of this year, according to minutes released last week from the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held in March. The stock market, which has… Read More

The labor market stalled in March. US employers added just 88,000 jobs during the month, down sharply from 268,000 in February, and well below the 163,000 average posted during the prior 12 months. This is slowest pace in nine months,… Read More

Consumer confidence plummeted unexpectedly in March. However, thanks to the “wealth effect” created by rising home and stock prices, this dip doesn’t mean the economic recovery has faltered. According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence fell to 59.7, down from… Read More

Most of the nation’s largest banks are in a much stronger capital position than they were before the financial crisis, according to results from the Federal Reserve’s third annual stress test released a week ago.  The test measures a bank’s ability to… Read More

The US labor market continues to improve. Employers added 236,000 nonfarm jobs in February, beating economists’ expectations by a long shot, with nearly every industry (except government) adding payrolls. Hourly wages expanded and outstripped inflation, rising 2.1% year-over-year compared to… Read More

After a big dip in confidence last November, small business owners are increasingly optimistic about the US economic outlook, and many plan to accelerate hiring and spending during the next twelve months. Over one-third of some 800+ small business CEOs… Read More

The US government posted a $3 billion budget surplus in January.  Yes, you read that right.  For the first time since 2008, the government collected more revenue than it spent.  Although this tiny monthly surplus does little to reverse the… Read More

After a weak holiday season, shoppers returned to stores in January to take advantage of steep discounts. With the “fiscal cliff” averted, a rebounding housing market, and a stream of positive economic data that pushed the S&P 500 to a… Read More

Slow and steady. That’s our view of Friday’s payroll report, which showed that employers added 157,000 jobs in January, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 7.9%. Although this fell short of economists’ forecasts, the sharp upward revision in the number… Read More

The S&P 500 extended its gains last week following a flurry of positive fourth quarter earnings reports and early signs that Europe’s economy may be on the mend. About one-third of firms comprising the S&P 500 index have announced results… Read More

The US economy continues to expand at a moderate pace, despite headwinds created by the fiscal cliff and debt ceiling debate in Washington.  US stocks finished slightly higher for the week after positive reports on housing and labor, both of… Read More

The S&P 500 hit a five-year high last week following news that Chinese exports surged 14% in December, exceeding economists’ estimates for a 4.6% increase.  The better-than-expected year-over-year growth is a positive sign for global trade and the Chinese economy. … Read More

Last week Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which averted the so-called “fiscal cliff” of immediate spending cuts and tax increases that threatened to send the US economy into a recession. Global markets rose sharply and investors… Read More

Retailers don’t have much to cheer about this season.  According to several early surveys, consumer spending leading up to Christmas Day was weaker than anticipated, with growth slowing to levels not seen since the 2008 recession.  Data from MasterCard Spendingpulse,… Read More

Sales of existing homes in the U.S. rose 5.9% from October to November to an annual rate of 5.04 million—the highest level since 2009—thanks to near-record-low interest rates.  The results exceeded the 3% gain anticipated by economists, according to a… Read More

Two dire predictions heading into 2012— a Greek exit from the eurozone and a collapse of the euro currency—have been avoided.  Last week, European Union (EU) leaders gave Greece about $65 billion in long-delayed bailout funds, which should ease that… Read More

US employers added more jobs than expected in November, another sign the US economy is on the mend, though not yet healed.  The jobs report released Friday suggests that ongoing worries about the “fiscal cliff” and weak European economy haven’t… Read More