U.S. manufacturing activity reached its highest level in two years in October, according to IHS Markit’s Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index data released Friday. … READ MORE >
Coronavirus
CHART OF THE DAY: The race to find a coronavirus vaccine
Scientists have been working at a blistering pace to shorten the vaccine development cycle from years to months in order to get a COVID-19 vaccine to market. With more than 190 such vaccines in development, there are several leading the pack. Here’s the latest on these efforts, as of Oct. 15. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: What’s the real unemployment rate?
The official unemployment rate in our estimation noticeably understates what we call the pandemic unemployment rate, which we estimate is 9.2%. … READ MORE >
First-time jobless claims decline to 787,000, implying modest improvement
The pace of first-time claims for unemployment insurance declined to an elevated 787,000 for the week ending Oct. 17, strongly suggesting that the economy is slowing in the fourth quarter. … READ MORE >
Coronavirus update: The economic benefits of increased testing and tracing
As global cases of COVID-19 top 40 million and infections in the United States again breach 50,000 per day, the specter of a second wave in Europe and the United States hangs over the domestic economy. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Hedge funds are faring well, but there is a range
Hedge funds are faring well after years of lackluster results, but the returns have not been uniformly strong. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Anticipation of pandemic demand for single-family homes
Housing starts rose in September by 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.4 million, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. … READ MORE >
RSM Monthly Index of Economic Activity shows an economy struggling to make up lost ground
We anticipate that gross domestic product in the Unites States will rebound at a 33.5% growth rate in the third quarter and 2.75% in the fourth quarter. … READ MORE >
There is no cooling the housing market as homebuilder confidence surges
The U.S. homebuilder confidence index continued to reach new heights, rising to 85 in October, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders released on Monday. … READ MORE >
The search for a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine
Americans are tired of the pandemic and the economic, health and political fallout we have collectively experienced from it. While there may be disagreement about the best way to approach the pandemic, it is generally held that a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine that can be manufactured and distributed at scale is a critical step toward economic recovery. … READ MORE >