Dees Stribling
Economy Watch: Residential Price Increases Decelerate; Auto Sales Strong in May
Home prices nationwide increased 10.5 percent in April compared to the same month in 2013, the smallest that metric has been in over a year. Vehicle sales came in strongest since before the recession.
Economy Watch: Construction Spending, Mortgage Delinquencies Advance in April; ISM Manufacturing Index Up in May
U.S. construction spending during April was 0.2 percent above the March rate. U.S.mortgages were 5.6 percent delinquent in April, up from 5.52 percent in March. The ISM Manufacturing Index in May increased by 0.5 percentage points from April.
Economy Watch: Consumer Income Up, Spending Down; Serious Mortgage Delinquencies, Consumer Sentiment Down
Americans’ personal income increased 0.3 percent in April compared with March. The single-family serious delinquency rate declined from 2.2 percent in March to 2.3 percent in April. U.S. consumers ended May a little more grumpy than at the end of April.
Economy Watch: GDP Contracts in Q1; Pending Home Sales Edge Up in April; Initial Unemployment Claims Drop
Real U.S. gross domestic product decreased at an annualized rate of 1 percent in the first quarter. Pending home sales improved for the second straight month in April. Initial unemployment claims dipped 27,000 from the previous week.
Economy Watch: Durable Goods, Manufacturing See Upticks; More Trucking Activity in April
U.S. durable goods orders for April were up 0.8 percent compared with March. Two regional manufacturing metrics were also up early this week. And trucking activity increased 1.5 percent in April.
Economy Watch: Housing Starts Gain Ground in April; State Unemployment Rates Mostly Down; Consumer Sentiment Drops
Private housing starts went up 13.2 percent in April compared to March. State unemployment rates were generally lower in April. The mid-May Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was 81.8, down from 84.1 at the end of April.
Economy Watch: FHFA Not Focusing on GSE Wind Down; Wholesale Inflation Sees Uptick in April
The new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Melvin Watt, does not intend to focus on GSE wind down. Volatility in the food and energy sector led to some wholesale-price increases in April.
Economy Watch: Retail Sales Eke Out Small April Gain; Household Debt Up in Q1; Small Businesses More Optimistic
Retail sales barely budged in April compared with March. Outstanding U.S. household debt increased $129 billion from the fourth quarter of 2013. The National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Optimism Index rose 1.8 points to a post-recession high of 95.2.
Economy Watch: Federal Deficit Continues to Drop; Equities Reach New Highs
The federal government’s budget deficit dropped sharply in the first seven months of fiscal 2014. And Wall Street was feeling good on Monday, even setting a record.
Economy Watch: Americans Still Pessimistic About Economy; Number of Job Openings Down
A recent survey of Americans found that most are still relatively pessimistic about the state of the U.S. economy. The number of job openings dropped month over month.