The tortured history of American Dream is a lesson in how ambitious plans with the best of intentions can go awry. … READ MORE >
Coronavirus
Americans spent more on building homes than on building anything else for the first time in 14 years
In another sign of the housing market’s continued strength, U.S. spending on residential buildings—both private and public—increased by 0.4% in August to $795.5 billion, while nonresidential spending declined by 0.4% to $788.6 billion, on a seasonally adjusted annual rate. … READ MORE >
Building permits in Canada continued to fall with material shortages
The value of building permits in Canada decreased by 2.1% in August from July to a seasonally adjusted 9.66 billion Canadian dollars as developers continued to feel the effect of supply and labour shortages. … READ MORE >
Workforce transformation: The American labor market, firms and the post-pandemic economy
Widespread labor shortages are hampering companies’ ability to capitalize on an economy that is expanding as the country recovers from a devastating pandemic. Firms will not experience a return to the way things were in the labor markets before the pandemic. … READ MORE >
Strong demand boosted manufacturing growth as PMI reached a four-month high
The headline manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index increased by 1.2 percentage points in September, to 61.1%, continuing to indicate overall expansion of the manufacturing sector. … READ MORE >
Spending posted strong gains in August, a boost from the enhanced child tax credit
Personal spending rose by 0.8% in August, following a downwardly revised 0.1% in July and showing the strong impact of the extra incomes from the enhanced child tax credit that began in July. … READ MORE >
Canada’s GDP showed modest contraction in July
Canada’s gross domestic product in July contracted by 0.1%, continuing the trend from the second quarter. … READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims rose for third straight week as millions lost federal pandemic benefits
First-time jobless claims rose to 362,000 for the week ending Sept. 25 as enhanced federal unemployment benefits ended, according to government data released Thursday. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Pending home sales rose a surprising 8.1% in August
Pending sales of homes bounced back strongly in August with an 8.1% increase after two consecutive months of declines, according to data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. … READ MORE >
Natural gas shortage and soaring prices threaten economic growth
Soaring gas, oil and coal prices point to an energy shortage across the globe, from the United States to Europe and China. The crunch has the potential to turn into a crisis if not managed, and has already caused industrial and residential power outages, threatened economic growth and jeopardized climate goals. … READ MORE >