October's personal income and spending data released by the government on Wednesday gave more reasons to end the short Thanksgiving week on a good note. Personal income rose by 0.5% on the month, beating expectations of a 0.2% increase, while spending rose by a sharp 1.3% in October on a dollar basis. ... READ MORE >
Surprises in jobless claims and goods trade make up for decline in durable goods orders
Encouraging economic news came from the government's early release of data on Wednesday: Jobless claims dropped to 199,000 last week, the lowest since 1969, while the advance goods trade deficit narrowed significantly to $82.9 billion in October, led by a sharp rise in exports. The jobs data was a ... READ MORE >
Holiday inventory problem: Some firms are better prepared than others
As supply chain bottlenecks continue to plague the economy, hampering output and raising prices, many analysts have warned that there will not be enough goods in stock for the holiday shopping season. Our new RSM US Supply Chain Index also reached a two-decade low in October, pointing to a problem ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Existing home sales inched up in October
Sales of existing homes inched up by 0.8% in October to 6.34 million, carrying some of the momentum in September, when sales jumped by a significant 7.0%, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors on Monday. Despite supply constraints and elevated prices, the small increase was ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Decline in initial jobless claims slows
New filings for jobless claims showed little change for the week ending Nov. 13 with a decrease of 1,000 from the prior week to 268,000, according to data from the Labor Department released on Tuesday. The steady weekly declines in new claims in early October have slowed significantly in the first two ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Housing starts lag as permits rise
Mixed results came from the housing sector in October as housing starts inched down by 0.7% while building permits rose sharply by 4.0%, according to data from the Census Bureau on Wednesday. Because both are proxies for the future supply of houses, we continue to see that supply has somewhat ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Industrial production climbed back in October
Industrial production rebounded in October with a gain of 1.6% after a significant slowdown in September because of Hurricane Ida, pointing to healthy growth for the rest of the year. Output gains were recorded in every category from manufacturing to utilities to mining as constraints in energy and ... READ MORE >
Retail sales beat expectations in a sign of a strong holiday season
Retail sales rose by 1.7% in October as consumers, flush with cash, signaled a strong start to the final quarter of the year, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday. The increase beat an upwardly revised 0.8% in September and was the third month in a row that retail sales ... READ MORE >
Introducing the RSM US Supply Chain Index: Sustained growth depends on retooling
The infrastructure that supports the domestic and global economies has experienced a significant stress test over the past few years. The twin policy shocks caused by the 2017-2020 trade war and the decision to effectively shut down elements of the global economy during the pandemic have resulted ... READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Consumer confidence erodes to decade low in November
Concerns over inflation crept into consumer confidence in November, pushing the index from the University of Michigan to a decade low of 66.8 from 71.7 in October, according to data released on Friday. Behind the decline was the rise in gasoline prices, which have long had a significant effect in ... READ MORE >