Strong durable goods orders and shipments in July showed that businesses continue to make long-term investments despite rising prices and concerns of a recession. Although the top-line number for new orders reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday remained flat on the month compared to June, ... READ MORE >
New home sales down 40% this year to lowest level since 2016
The slump in new home sales continued last month, dropping 12.6% to 511,000 annualized, following a 7.1% drop in June, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. With July's decline, new home sales for the year are off by nearly 40% compared to last year. The decline brought the sales number to the ... READ MORE >
Existing home sales fall below pre-pandemic level as initial jobless claims hold steady
Existing home sales fell in July to their lowest level since 2020 amid elevated mortgage rates as the Federal Reserve continued to hike interest rates. Sales dropped 5.9% to 4.81 million annualized, marking the sixth straight month of market contraction, the National Association of Realtors reported on ... READ MORE >
RSM U.S. Supply Chain Index: Back to normal for first time since pandemic hit
The U.S. Supply Chain Index in July was back above neutral for the first time in nearly three years on the back of the continuing strong rebounds in inventories and capacity utilization. With most of the COVID-19 concerns behind us and the renormalization of supply-chain linkages around the world, we ... READ MORE >
Retail sales unchanged amid sharp drop in gasoline prices
Retail sales stayed flat in July on the back of a sharp drop in gasoline prices and lower automobile sales, the U.S. Census Bureau reported on Wednesday. With inflation remaining largely unchanged in July, retail sales after being adjusted for inflation should also likely be flat on the month. Lower ... READ MORE >
Industrial production rose in July, tempering recession fears despite housing starts drop
While a sharp drop in U.S. housing starts in July will continue to put a dent in the residential investment component of third-quarter gross domestic product, the strong bounce back of industrial production volume should temper recession fears. U.S. industrial production beat estimates last month, ... READ MORE >
University of Michigan survey: Consumer sentiment rises on better economic outlook
U.S. consumer sentiment rose more than expected in August on the back of the sharp drop in gasoline prices, but remains near a record low as consumers shouldered multi-decade-high inflation and continuing economic uncertainty. The University of Michigan's monthly consumer sentiment index increased from ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims rise as producer inflation deflates for first time in 2 years
New claims for U.S. jobless benefits rose 5.6% in the first week of August to 262,000 as layoffs continued to pick up, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday. While there has been a clear upward trend in new unemployment claims, the number remained relatively low compared to the ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims rise amid labor market slowdown
Initial jobless claims ticked up last week, continuing their gradual rise since April as layoffs began to increase. New claims for jobless benefits rose by 2.4% to 260,000 for the week ending July 30 after a brief decline in the prior week, according to government data released on Thursday. The ... READ MORE >
Service sector grew faster in July, beating forecasts
The service sector grew faster than expected in July on the back of broad-based increasing business activities and new orders, the Institute for Supply Management reported on Wednesday. The top-line composite index inched up to 56.7 in July from 55.3 in June, the 26th consecutive month of expansion ... READ MORE >