Category Archives: Weekly

U.S. economic data at the close of the first quarter was mixed, consistent with the view that economic momentum continued through the quarter, but conditions remain far from normal in part due to ongoing uncertainty about fiscal tightening and other … Continue reading →

             The tail of the Euro zone wagged the dog this week as economically small Cyprus drove the financial news cycle. Cypriot banks, under pressure from failing loans to Greek and other businesses, are dependent on support from the European … Continue reading →

Labor market data for February was better than expected. The official Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed a solid gain of 236,000 payroll jobs for the month.   Job growth was broad-based, however, the government sector was a drain, subtracting 10,000 … Continue reading →

Housing related data continues to be positive. The Case-Shiller 20-City House Price Index for December shows that almost all major metro areas tracked saw consistent gains in house prices at the end of 2012. The 20-city composite index was up … Continue reading →

U.S. economic data for January continues to be fairly benign, masking some issues that will show up more in February. Price indexes do not yet reflect higher petroleum prices. Even as retail gasoline prices climbed, the energy price components of … Continue reading →

             Data through mid-February are consistent with ongoing modest-to-moderate real GDP expansion in Q1 in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 percent annualized. The interpretation of January retail sales is mixed. Because retail sales last October, at the start of … Continue reading →