Even as trade disputes and other economic headwinds surface in 2019, the U.S. consumer has held strong and continues to fuel growth in the domestic economy, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. … READ MORE >
Consumer products
Consumer companies stand to gain from opportunity zones
Opportunity zones—those specially created districts that offer tax breaks to investors—provide some attractive benefits to consumer businesses. The combination of tax deferral and potential tax avoidance on certain capital gains can be very attractive to any entity that plans to make future investments in real estate … READ MORE >
A data scientist could keep Amazon from kicking you off its platform
On May 28, Bloomberg reported that Amazon may stop taking wholesale orders from smaller vendors, a move intended to drive efficiencies and ensure that the tech giant maintains healthy supplies of its most in-demand products. Whether or not this report is true, it begs a broader question: What is your digital strategy and how does Amazon fit into it? … READ MORE >
Can consumers carry the economy amid weak business investment?
Durable goods orders in April showed broad weakness as expected, down 2.1 percent. However, in addition to April results, March durable goods numbers were also revised downward, compounding the impact and creating a weaker trend. Can consumer spending pick up the slack? … READ MORE >
A pivot point for agriculture : Can agritech save farming?
The U.S. agriculture sector has been hard hit in recent years due to changing global demand and the onset of the Trump administration’s trade conflicts. Growth of real net farm income in 2019 dollars has been negative in nine of the past 19 years. Here’s a look at some of the actions we could take to reverse these trends. … READ MORE >
Financial crisis monitor: agriculture sector at risk
Should the current trade policy pathway not be changed, the farm sector is going to experience the greatest downturn since the late 1980s, driven by widespread bankruptcies and consolidation. RSM Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas explores. … READ MORE >
Wholesale gasoline prices point to 8% rise in retail costs in time for summer holidays
U.S. consumers are likely to feel a modest jolt in commuting costs, as wholesale gasoline futures now point to an 8 percent rise in retail gasoline prices in coming days, with risk of a much more pronounced increase to follow.The surge is due to non-market derived pricing action caused by a recent policy shift from Washington on waivers around imports of Iranian oil. … READ MORE >
Economic risk tied to closing the U.S.-Mexico border
A sustained hard closure of the U.S. border with Mexico would trigger a recession in both the United States and Mexico within six months. The automotive sector, in particular, is vulnerable. … READ MORE >
U.S. February retail sales point to weak Q1 household spending
Soft top-line and underlying core retail sales in February point to persistent weak household spending in the first quarter of the year. … READ MORE >
Retail sales: Fatigued consumer bounces back but will there be follow through?
January retail sales data indicated a modest rebound in spending after a weaker-than-expected close to 2018. The 0.2 percent month-over-month increase in retail sales and the 0.9 percent increase in the retail sales control group figure that feeds into estimates of gross domestic product both affirm that the U.S. did not fall into recession to kick off the year. … READ MORE >