New home sales dropped 4.5% in January as high prices and increasing mortgage rates slowed demand. The omicron variant and colder-than-usual weather in January were also factors in the decline. … READ MORE >
omicron variant
Chart of the day: Initial jobless claims continue to decline
Initial jobless claims last week continued to trend down toward the pre-pandemic level after a period of temporary increases because of the omicron variant. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Consumer confidence slides
Consumer confidence ticked down in February as expectations for the economy softened. … READ MORE >
RSM US Supply Chain Index: Omicron pauses improvement
Stress in the U.S. supply chain increased in January as the omicron surge temporarily put some parts of the overall production to a halt. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Buyers rush into housing market before rate hikes
Investors with all-cash offers flocked into the housing market before rate hikes, helping to push sales of existing homes to 6.5 million in January at an annualized rate. … READ MORE >
Canada’s retail sales slump because of omicron
Retail sales in Canada plunged by 1.8% in December across all provinces as the spread of the omicron variant hurt holiday shopping. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: U.S. housing permits reach 15-year high
Housing starts declined by 4.1% in January on an annualized rate. But housing starts remained well above the long-term equilibrium for housing supply of around 1.5 million a year. … READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims rise unexpectedly
New filings for jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week because of large jumps in Missouri and Ohio. New claims advanced to 248,000 from an upwardly revised 225,000 the week before. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: U.S. industrial production rebounds
A colder-than-normal January pushed industrial production up significantly as utility production rose 9.9% on the month—the highest rate on record. … READ MORE >
Inflation in Canada surpasses 5% amid broad price increases
Households continued to feel the impact of rising prices for essential items, with food up by 5.7%, shelter rising by 6.2% and gasoline increasing by 31.7% on a year-over-year basis.
… READ MORE >