Here we are on the penultimate Friday of 2019. Around this time of year, it becomes easier to slip into daydreams, thinking about the bygone. It was with this in mind that Atlas started to consider how much change has happened in the last 50 years. What we found was eye-opening.
Productivity contracted in the third quarter of this year according to revised data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Their measure of output per labor hour fell 0.2 percent from July through September 2019 (originally down 0.3 percent).
America’s trade deficit shrank in October 2019 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The shortfall improved to $47.2 billion from the revised $51.1 billion (originally $52.5 billion) chasm in September. While on the surface this indicator looked better, the cause of the improvement is not constructive as both sides of the trade ledger declined in the period.
America’s economy was split in November 2019 according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The nation’s manufacturing base continued to contract, falling for a fourth consecutive period. However, non-manufacturing pushed its string of expansions further, reaching 118 months of growth in a row.
Last Friday we published this note about the recent disruption in the repurchase agreement (repo) market. This is a short-term lending resource for various financial institution (banks and non-banks alike) to borrow cash by temporarily selling high-quality assets and promising to buy them back
America’s economy thrives on consumption. No indicator tells us more about consumers than the Income and Outlays figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This release covers changes in aggregate pay and spending as well as providing important data on inflation.
Durable goods orders made back some of their prior losses in October 2019 according to the Census Bureau. After declining a downwardly revised 1.4 percent in September (originally minus 1.1 percent), they increased 0.6 percent. Unfortunately, this latest uptick was not enough to push the year-over-year statistic into positive territory. As you can see in the chart above, it ha
The Land of Oz was ruled by The Wizard of Oz in the children’s novel from 1900, The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. His subjects held the mysterious man in high regard. Dorothy and her friends even traveled to Emerald City, the capital of Oz, because they were certain he was the only person capable of solving their issues.
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