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Natural disasters make headlines each year, and 2017 has been no exception.  To the best of my knowledge, friends of Atlas have escaped relatively unscathed despite living in Florida, Texas, New Orleans, California, and on the east coast.  It is The Golden State’s turn to lead the stories above the fold as Santa Ana winds fuel fires from Ventura to Los Angeles to San Bernardino.

Two popular measures of consumer attitudes were mixed in November 2017, but they both remain relatively elevated.  Consumer Confidence put out by the Conference Board hit a new 17-year high, reaching 129.5.  Consumer Sentiment from the University of Michigan declined to 98.5 from 100.7, the highest peak of the last decade.

Economic output in America from July through September 2017 was even better than first counted.  With more complete data collected, the Bureau of Economic Analysis now estimates gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.3 percent on an inflation-adjusted annualized basis during the third quarter of this year, upwardly revised from 3.0 percent in the earliest estimate.  Output improved by th

New home sales in America have been strong during the past couple of months according to data from the Census Bureau.  After surging 14.2 percent in September, this volatile indicator continued its upward trend in October 2017 by adding another 6.2 percent.  With contract signings reaching 685,000 on an annualized basis, this latest swell puts the indicator at its best level in the cu

Orders for wares expected to last three years or longer fell in October according to the Census Bureau.  After jumping 2.2 percent in September, Durable Goods Orders gave back over half of the prior month’s gain, falling 1.2 percent.  This monthly setback put downward pressure on the annual trend which dropped to just 1.0 percent versus the upwardly revised count of 8.4 percent

When Hurricane Maria knocked out 90% of Puerto Rico's power, the populace found it necessary to revert to a cash economy.  In the first month after the storm hit, all around the island there are still many places where credit cards don't work, debit cards don't work, ATMs don't work, bank wires don't work, electronic fund transfers don't work.

Sales of existing homes jumped 2.0 percent in October according to the National Association of Realtors.  Increasing 110,000 units to 5.48 million on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, this monthly uptick is the best since May of this year.  However, the year-over-year statistic remained negative (down 0.9 percent) for a second consecutive month.

Economic activity continued advancing in October 2017 according to the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI).  This indicator, which represents a comprehensive look at the economy, increased to +0.65 after an upwardly revised advance of +0.36 in September (originally 0.17).  For some context, October’s reading is the highest level of the current expansion!  Additional

Economic output is poised to continue growing according to the latest data from the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI).  After the positively revised tally of 0.1 percent in September (initially minus 0.2 percent), this forward-looking indicator jumped 1.2 percent in October 2017.  Nearly all of the LEI’s components supported this latest uptick. 

America’s output of physically made goods continued growing in October 2017 according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve’s measure of Industrial Production.  After two months of suppression caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, this cyclically sensitive indicator maintains its positive trend.  Notwithstanding the upward trajectory of the headline tally, details we