Pending home sales in February dipped for the fourth straight month as depleted inventory and rising mortgage rates dampened sales. The number of contracts signed for homes dropped 4.1% in February, following a 5.7% decline in January, according to data from the National Association of Realtors ... READ MORE >
pandemic
The housing market will endure interest rate hikes
Two years into the pandemic, the housing market remains on fire and shows few signs of receding. What was initially fueled by buyers' need for more space and a low interest rate environment has proven to have staying power. Now, with inflation hitting 7.9%, a 40-year high, in February, the Federal ... READ MORE >
Protests’ ramifications on the Canadian economy
The trucker convoy has shuttered the Canadian economy, with consequences reaching far beyond cross-border trade and encompassing the supply chain, inflation, the labor market and economic growth. The protests, which led Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to declare a national public order emergency on ... READ MORE >
U.S. January consumer price index: Inflation continues to surge
Nothing in January’s consumer price index data released on Thursday implies that the surge in inflation has peaked. Last month's CPI increase will add to the difficult choices at the Federal Reserve on the magnitude of the interest rate hikes that make up the next step of its policy ... READ MORE >
How construction firms can manage a fractured supply chain
Two years into the pandemic, the construction industry is still grappling with the fallout of the economic shock as builders scramble to secure raw materials and the workers to keep their projects on track. The whipsaw change over the past two years has fragmented the construction supply chain, ... READ MORE >
Acceleration of wage increases raises caution flag for policymakers
Friday’s report that the Employment Cost Index had increased at the fastest pace in decades confirmed that the Great Resignation is bolstering the bargaining power of workers. The wage component of the index has now accelerated from a 2.5% rate of increase in the third quarter of 2020 to 4.2% a ... READ MORE >
U.S. December jobs report: Economy has strongest year of job creation on record
Recovery, resilience and reimagination are apt descriptions of the American economy two years into a debilitating pandemic. Like a bruised prizefighter in the late rounds of a championship match, the American economy closed the year on a strong note by adding 199,000 jobs in December. Once one ... READ MORE >
ADP jobs report: Service sector led an upside surprise in December
Private businesses in the United States added 807,000 jobs in December, the most since May, pointing to a stronger rebound of the labor market, according to a report from ADP on Wednesday. The increase, which handily beat estimates of about 410,000 new jobs, was broad-based, with the largest gains ... READ MORE >
RSM US Manufacturing Outlook Index: Expansion continues despite omicron, supply chain uncertainty
The RSM US Manufacturing Outlook Index remained solid in December at 1.3 standard deviations above neutral as the economy continued to expand into the end of the year. But that strength is in question as the omicron variant continues to spread. Our index moderated during December, mostly on a slump ... READ MORE >
Consumer confidence surveys reflect a bifurcation of the nation’s economy
Recent readings of consumer confidence are revealing an increasingly bifurcated economy as households continue to grapple with the pandemic. The economy can be divided into two camps, the surveys show: one of scarcity where prices are rising and employment remains a challenge, and one of abundance ... READ MORE >