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November 2018 International Trade

Relay races are exciting.  You get the fastest runners from around the globe and wait for world records to be set.  Of course, the most dangerous portion of the competition occurs during the handoff.  If a smooth connection isn’t made, forget finishing the race, let alone contacting the folks from Guinness World Records.

America’s economy is still burning rarified air despite some deceleration according to the two measures from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).  Each of their readings were above 55 in January 2019, an exceptional level.  Anything above 50 suggests growth, and tallies above 55 tend to be much less common.

Well there you have it, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the rest of the New England Patriots climbed back to the top of the heap on Sunday. Congratulations to all of our readers who were cheering on the G.O.A.T.

Tracking economic output has been difficult lately since so many indicators are measured by various government entities.  Even though the government shutdown is over, there are large gaps in data.

Our Pie Parties always provide wonderful material for morning notes.  Tuesday’s gathering was no exception.  As you might have guessed, the recent government shutdown was brought up and we explored the topic.  In particular, Jack voiced concern about workers not being able to financially shelter in place during their paycheck hiatus.  In other words, why couldn’t

With the government shutdown on hiatus, Atlas looks forward to getting back to a normal economic release schedule.  Of course, this presumes another shutdown isn’t just a few weeks away.  Last week we lost access to Durable Goods Orders and New Home Sales from the Census Bureau.  So today we’ll look at an old friend of Atlas’, the National Association of Busines

Our economy is likely to move along at about the current pace for the next few quarters according to the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI).  Their December 2018 release edged down 0.1 percent after rising 0.2 percent in November.  Versus a year ago, this index is up 2.1 percent.

Before we get started on the details of December 2018 Industrial Production, I want to point out that the Federal Reserve’s latest release completes the first 100 years for this indicator.  It’s first publication covered data for January 1919.  The chart above is a copy of the first chart for industrial production.