Category: Economy

Industrial production increased 0.9% in March (+1.0% including revisions to prior months), easily beating the consensus expected gain of 0.4%.  […]

Retail sales rose 0.5% in March (+1.2% including revisions to prior months). The consensus expected a gain of 0.6%.  Retail […]

The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 1.4% in March, coming in above the consensus expected +1.1%. Producer prices are up […]

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.2% in March, matching consensus expectations.  The CPI is up 8.5% from a year […]

The ISM Non-Manufacturing index increased to 58.3 in March, slightly below the consensus expected 58.5.  (Levels above 50 signal expansion; […]

The trade deficit in goods and services was essentially unchanged, coming in at $89.2 billion in February, larger than the […]

Intellectuals and politicians often try to verbally summarize or justify conventional thinking in pithy ways.  Milton Friedman (in 1965) and […]

The ISM Manufacturing Index declined to 57.1 in March, missing the consensus expected 59.0. (Levels higher than 50 signal expansion; […]

Nonfarm payrolls increased 431,000 in March versus a consensus expected 490,000. Payroll gains for January and February were revised up […]

Personal income rose 0.5% in February, matching consensus expectations. Personal consumption rose 0.2% in February (+0.6% including prior months’ revisions) […]

Real GDP growth in Q4 was revised slightly lower to a 6.9% annual rate from a prior estimate and consensus […]

Inflation is a political lightning rod.  As a result, there is a good deal of misconception around it.  The Consumer […]