Households are spending more and savings less, enjoying their summer and getting ready for school, government data released on Friday suggests. In short, households are getting back to normal. But whether that’s sustainable will probably be determined by somehow convincing all Americans to get a ... READ MORE >
Joseph Brusuelas
Jobless claims continue choppy descent
In the 71st week of an employment crisis, initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped again by 24,000 to 400,000 first-time claims for the week ending July 24. There remain 13.1 million people who are receiving some form of unemployment benefits. Of those, 3.2 million—or 25%—are receiving ... READ MORE >
Federal Reserve policy and interest rates in 10 charts
The Federal Open Market Committee retained its accommodative policy stance on Wednesday, keeping short-term rates at the zero bound to provide liquidity for commercial activity. The FOMC said it would maintain its monthly purchases of securities to pressure long-term interest rates lower, facilitating ... READ MORE >
GDP expands by 6.5% in second quarter as expansion takes hold
A global public health crisis resulting in a 31.4% decline in gross domestic product in the second quarter of last year has turned to expansion because of sustained robust fiscal aid and unorthodox monetary policy. The U.S. economy grew by 6.5% in the second quarter, marking the start of the current ... READ MORE >
FOMC July meeting: Dovish monetary policy remains in place
The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday retained its policy rate at a range between zero and 0.25% as it updated its policy statement to reflect a three-month surge in inflation. The meeting came as the spread of the delta variant spurs new questions about economic growth and brings rising risks to ... READ MORE >
RSM US Manufacturing Outlook Index: Confirmation of recovery despite supply chain constraints
Despite disruption to global supply chains and increasing delivery times, orders for durable goods increased again in June, the 13th month of increases out of the past 14 months, according to Commerce Department data released on Tuesday. This is confirmation of a recovery for the sector and the end ... READ MORE >
Coronavirus update: The rise of the delta variant
The coronavirus is spreading once more, with daily reported cases in the United States nearly four times higher than only four weeks ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that because of its transmissibility, the delta variant of the virus is now responsible for more than 83% of ... READ MORE >
FOMC preview: Expect more talk, less action at the July meeting
Inflationary risk and the delta variant of the coronavirus will be front and center at next week’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, while policy changes will take a back seat. The primary takeaways of the meeting, should there actually be anything other than a reaffirmation of the status ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Port activity continues its record pace as supply chain normalizes
Los Angeles-area seaports continued to process record numbers of shipping containers in June. Combined with the increase in intermodal rail freight, that’s a sign that the North American supply chain is up and running in support of an economic recovery, albeit with room to improve as global supply chain ... READ MORE >
Jobless claims back above 400,000 for the first time in four weeks
First-time jobless claims increased by 51,000 to 419,000 for the week ending July 3, according to government data released Thursday. The increase underscores the week-to-week noise in the data and is not indicative of any signal of an acceleration in the pace of firings. With the labor market so tight, ... READ MORE >