Retail sales were strong in July 2017 according to the Census Bureau. Month-over-month, this important indicator jumped 0.6 percent. Compared to a year earlier, transactions increased 4.2 percent. Not only did the second half of the year get off to quick start, June’s tally was revised upward substantially; first reported as falling 0.2 percent, a more complete cou
Inflation remained relatively level in July 2017 according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After being unchanged in June, this price proxy increased just 0.1 percent to start the second half of this year. Compared to July of 2016, this index is 1.7 percent higher. Core-CPI (which excludes food and energy) rose 0.1 percent, matching the up
Prices paid by producers and wholesalers declined in July 2017 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Falling 0.1 percent in the period, this is the first contraction since August of last year. In addition to monthly weakness, the year-over-year statistic slowed for a second consecutive month to 1.9 percent from 2.0 percent in June.
Proprietors of small companies are feeling better about the future for the first time in five months according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
Technology continues rippling through our economy in interesting and innovative ways. We have all heard how easy it is to shop from home and have boxes appear on your doorstep filled with your latest purchases. Even more technical advances are helping NASA train astronauts using virtual reality. Those of us not proficient in physics are still able to experience the tech-revolu
Deceleration sums up the American economy in July 2017 according to the latest data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Each month this organization surveys purchasing managers from various firms to get a sense of the economy’s velocity. The good news is that output continued heading in a positive direction. Unfortunately, there was some evidence of dec
June 2017 Trade Balance
Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Income and Outlays was short on good news for June 2017. As the first half of this year came to a close, there was no change to the national income figure versus a month earlier. As one might presume, this stunted consumption’s growth in the period, rising just 0.1 percent.
America’s jobs market started off strong in the second half of this year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, our nation added 209,000 net new jobs in July 2017. These newly filled positions helped push the country’s unemployment rate down to just 4.3 percent, an improvement of one-tenth percent versus June. Headlines are often deceiving, but even the
Executive compensation has garnered many headlines over the past few years. Many wonder whether or not C-suite executives are being paid too much. At the very least, they are compensated much more than in the past when compared to the typical employee. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that CEOs of America’s largest firms made $15.6 million on average or 271
Consumer attitudes are mixed according to two popular surveys. Per Consumer Confidence numbers from the Conference Board, Americans felt better in July 2017 than a month earlier as it enjoyed a 3.8 point jump from the downwardly revised tally of 117.3 (originally 118.9) to 121.1 in the period. However, the Consumer Sentiment Index produced by the University of Michigan was decidedly
America’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.6 percent on an annualized basis during the second quarter of 2017 according to the first of at least three estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This represents an acceleration compared to the economy’s pace in the first three months of this year when output grew by just 1.2 percent (downwardly revised from 1.4 percent).
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