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America’s economy maintained its recent strength in November 2017 according to the latest headline data from the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI).  This uptick of 0.15 followed an upwardly revised tally of 0.76 in October (originally 0.65).  It may appear that there was a substantial deceleration in the penultimate month, but activity related to hurricane recovery eff

Newsworthy events were not in short supply this year.  Right out of the gate, America swore in its 45^th president.  Shortly thereafter, North Korea began firing ballistic missiles across the Sea of Japan.  Then the United Kingdom triggered article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, starting Brexit negotiations.  And these all happened in the first quarter of the year! 

America’s output is poised to continue advancing according to the latest data from the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI). After a few months of volatility (mostly hurricane-related), this forward-looking indicator settled into a decent pace of growth, 0.4 percent in November 2017. A majority of the components were positive in the period.

Sales of existing homes jumped in November 2017 according to the National Association of Realtors. Accelerating 5.6 percent in the period, sales totaled 5.81 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis. November’s sales pace is the strongest in over a decade. Additionally, October’s tally was upwardly revised to 2.4 percent (originally 2.0 percent).

Industrial production continued growing in November 2017 according to the Federal Reserve.  Rising 0.2 percent, this modest uptick followed the upwardly revised tally of 1.2 percent (originally 0.9 percent) in October.  Including this third consecutive monthly gain, industrial production has increased 3.4 percent during the past year.

Atlas loves poring over data.  Turning data into actionable information is the firm’s primary effort.  Our process is designed to observe dispassionately financial markets, searching for places your money will be well served.  For many, headlines create distractions to investment decisions.  Atlas’ data-driven approach seeks to minimize the constant noises of a 2

Americans paid higher prices in November 2017 than a month earlier according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  This measure of inflation rose 0.4 percent in the period and has gained 2.2 percent in the past twelve months.  Core-CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy components, rose 0.1 percent in November and has gained 1.7 percent in the

Two months into America’s fiscal year 2018 and our nation’s deficit has climbed 10.6 percent versus a year earlier according to data from the Department of Treasury.  Your government’s shortfall was $138.5 billion in November 2017.  Both receipts and outlays increased versus a year ago, symptomatic of an improving economy. 

Prices paid by producers and wholesalers rose in November according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Their Producer Price Index (PPI) increased 0.4 percent in the penultimate month alone.  This rapid monthly move pushed the year-over-year trend to 3.1 percent, up from 2.8 percent in October.

Small business optimism is at multi-decade high according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).  This measure of enthusiasm has not reached this level in over 34 years, and it has only reached a similar reading one other time in the survey’s 44-year history.  The optimism index reached 107 during November 2017, a gain of 3.7 points.