Durable goods orders in February fell for the second month in a row, driven mostly by declines in orders for automobiles, aircraft and defense. … READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims drop further
Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 to 191,000 last week, remaining below the pre-pandemic average and below expectations of a slight increase to 197,000. … READ MORE >
Canada inflation slows in February
Canada’s inflation plunged to 5.2% from 5.9% on a year-ago basis as comparisons to last year’s elevated numbers kicked in, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday. … READ MORE >
Financial shock sending Fed proxy rate into restrictive terrain
Should the crisis deteriorate further, with more bank seizures and further problems inside systemically financially important institutions, then the degree of financial shock is equivalent to 150 basis points of tightening. … READ MORE >
Consumer sentiment fell in March, before the financial turmoil
Consumer sentiment for March dropped to 63.4 from 67 as consumers’ confidence in the current economic conditions and their expectations both worsened on the month, though the survey results did not reflect the recent turmoil in financial markets … READ MORE >
How many jobs need to be sacrificed to tame inflation? Cost is rising, RSM models show.
Under our base case, a loss of 2.5 million jobs is consistent with a 5.1% unemployment rate, 3% inflation and a likely recession under current economic conditions. … READ MORE >
Jobless claims and housing starts come in hotter than expected
Jobless claims and housing starts blew past forecasts in the most recent reports released Thursday, both showing stronger-than-expected results amid a looming economic downturn. … READ MORE >
Retail sales and producer inflation fell in February
Retail sales dropped in February after surging in January, while producer inflation fell unexpectedly on the month, signaling easing demand pressures. … READ MORE >
Canada’s job gains came in hotter than expected as wage growth spiked
The net change in Canada’s total employment dropped to 21,800 from a whopping 150,000 increase in January yet remained above the expectations of only 10,000. … READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims spike to highest level since December
New claims for jobless benefits last week came in hotter than expected at 211,000, significantly higher than the 190,000 of the previous week. … READ MORE >