America’s economy continued adding jobs in December 2017 according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employers hired a net 148,000 new workers as the year came to a close. Despite the monthly increase in jobs, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent as the number of available workers also rose in the period.
Retirement goals are often met with a little help from friends, specifically those from subsequent generations. Pensions are perfect examples. As one works and contributes to defined contribution plans (think Social Security), the design of the scheme is rarely self-financed. Outcomes tend to be best if the next generation is larger and wealthier than the one before it.
Durable Goods Orders soared in November according to data from the Census Bureau. Aircraft orders (up 31 percent in the period) provided much of the lift in the period’s 1.3 percent improvement. This most recent uptick followed an upwardly revised, albeit still disappointing, October tally of -0.4 percent (originally -1.2 percent).
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 45th 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.
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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
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