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Consumers are paying more for goods and services according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI).  In May 2018, this measure of inflation rose 0.2 percent for a second consecutive period .  Compared to a year earlier, CPI gained 2.8 percent, increasing at the fastest pace in six years.

International trade in goods and services improved in April 2018 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  They estimate the trading deficit shrank $1.0 billion to $46.2 billion after March’s tally was revised from the original shortfall of $49.0 billion.  Year-to-date, America’s trade deficit is up 11.5 percent or $20.8 billion to $201.7 billion.

Incomes and outlays improved to start the second quarter of this year according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  Personal income rose 0.3 percent in April 2018, and spending jumped 0.6 percent.  Disposable personal income (DPI), aka after-tax pay, rose 0.4 percent or $60.9 billion, leading to some decay in the nation’s savings rate. 

In The Stepford Wives, a novel with two film adaptations, men in a fictional Connecticut town have discovered how to turn their wives into submissive, overly attentive, eager to please robots.  Spoiler alert: things seem to go quite well for the men, not so much for the women who are transformed.  Given current (and presumably future) advances in robotics and artificial intelligence,

Existing homes sales were disappointing to start the second quarter of 2018 after moving higher in both February and March.  Month-over-month, transaction volume fell 2.5 percent in April.  Even more disappointing is the year-over-year tally which also fell, dropping 1.4 percent and declining for a second consecutive period.