Factory orders rose 1.1% year-over-year in August, the first increase since February. Like February, however, it isn’t clear if the gain is due to actual organic growth or seasonal factors. The seasonally-adjusted series for factory orders fell 1.6%, the difference likely attributed to July. Orders rose by a considerable amount in that month on a seasonally-adjusted basis even though unadjusted [...]
When we talk about or estimate long run growth rates, we intend to encompass entire cycles. In other words, whatever the long run average of real GDP growth, for instance, it takes into account both recession and recovery to harmonize into what would be a constant trend or potential. From that view, we would expect that while growth would be [...]
Auto sales continue along with their “plateau”, being estimated at 17.8 million (SAAR) units sold in September. Ford was once again the big loser, with sales down 8.1% year-over-year; GM down 0.6%; Fiat Chrysler -0.9%; and VW -7.8%. Toyota and Nissan managed gains, +1.5% and +4.9%, respectively. Car sales were down almost 19% while pickups and light truck sales fell [...]
In economics, there is a great deal of thought and debate surrounding first and second order effects. In short, a first order effect is something that is directly caused by some change, while a second order effect is caused by the first order effect. In many instances it is the second order effects that countermand any of the first, rendering [...]
The personal savings rate rose slightly in August, though as I have shown before in truth we have no idea what the actual savings rate might be. The revisions to it over the years have made it one of the least reliable indications in the economics catalog. The reason is the suddenly frequent tendency of the BEA to seriously revise [...]
Durable goods continue to suggest a weak economy that only seems to remain in that state. Year-over-year, unadjusted estimates for new orders rose slightly for the first time since May, while seasonally adjusted total orders (including the transportation sector) were fractionally lower at $226.9 billion. That amount was 2% less than January 2016 and 4.3% below August 2014. Once again [...]
The pace of new home sales fell again in August according to the National Association of Realtors. On a seasonally-adjusted annual basis, the rate of resales registered 5.33 million compared to 5.38 million in July and 5.29 million in August 2015. The growth rate on sales has clearly slowed, and the NAR itself finds that curious in light of supposed [...]
There is absolutely no need whatsoever to pay any attention to what Janet Yellen says. There is even less call for parsing the increasingly ridiculous FOMC statement, particularly with regard to inflation where it will continue to suggest “professional forecasters” are the only way (left) to measure monetary policy effectiveness. Instead, four times a year the FOMC meeting coincides with [...]
For the fifteenth consecutive month dating back to November 2014, the US CPI remained less than 1.5%. While this was supposed to be the year where “transitory” effects of oil prices as well as “other” factors dissipated, only in January has the full CPI been above 1.1%. Much like the PCE Deflator, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, there is no [...]
It follows that if we find production dropping into a two-year slump, sales are likely the cause. Retail sales continue to be just as stuck as the rest of the economy, an economic limbo between growth and recession with far more of recession than growth. After suffering one of the worst months in July, retail sales bounced back in August [...]
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