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One hundred years ago our global economy was entering the Roaring Twenties.  After a rough start, it was a period marked by economic prosperity in the West.  America was leading the way in finance.  Metropolitan regions were experiencing extraordinary growth.  Even Judy Garland wondered how they were going to keep ret

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.