Spending remained strong in March on the heels of robust income growth despite sticky inflation, according to Commerce Department data released on Friday. The data pointed to the underlying strength of the economy and provided a rebuttal of sorts to the disappointing gross domestic product figure ... READ MORE >
Tuan Nguyen
Business equipment spending grows in March
Shipments of core capital goods rebounded in March, adding to the reasons why the data for gross domestic product should show an upside surprise when it is released on Thursday. The core capital goods shipments data, which excludes defense and aircraft, feeds into the calculation of GDP is a proxy for ... READ MORE >
Existing home sales plunge amid stable jobless claims
March proved challenging for the housing market as sales of existing homes plummeted by 4.3%, marking the steepest drop since November 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. This decline mirrors earlier setbacks in housing starts and permits. A significant uptick in ... READ MORE >
Industrial production rebounds as housing starts plunge
Tuesday's mixed data on housing and industrial production shows how both sectors remained on a bumpy path as a result of elevated interest rates. Housing starts dropped by 14.7% to 1.32 million on an annualized rate, the lowest level since last August, while permits, a proxy for future projects, also ... READ MORE >
U.S. retail sales show surprising resilience
American consumers are continuing to show remarkable resilience in their spending habits, despite facing higher prices, particularly at the gas pump, according to retail sales data for March released by the Commerce Department on Monday. The swift recovery in retail sales in March, along with ... READ MORE >
U.S. consumer sentiment falls as inflation stays sticky
Consumer sentiment in the United States ticked down in April in a sign of the impact of rising inflation, particularly gasoline prices, over the past three months. The consumer sentiment index fell to 77.9 from 79.4, according to the University of Michigan survey on Friday. While the index is ... READ MORE >
Hot inflation data dims prospects for a Fed rate cut in June
The U.S. consumer price index came in above expectations for March, putting the Federal Reserve in a difficult position as it seeks to starting cutting interest rates this year. Both overall and core inflation remained unchanged at 0.4% monthly, the third consecutive month that the overall CPI ... READ MORE >
Service sector continues to normalize in March
The service sector posted slower growth in March as price growth fell to the lowest level since the start of the pandemic, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday. The composite index fell to 51.4 from 52.6, while the prices paid subindex dropped to 53.4 from ... READ MORE >
Job openings inch up in February
Job openings edged higher in February, suggesting that the jobs report for March will show continued strong gains when it is released on Friday. Openings rose by 8,000 to 8.756 million in September, slightly higher than forecasted, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on ... READ MORE >
Manufacturing sector expands for the first time since September 2022
The manufacturing sector grew faster in March than expected on the heels of strong production activity and new orders, according to the Institute for Supply Management survey released on Monday. The March data, though, should not so much be seen as a sign of strength to come but rather as a catchup ... READ MORE >