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Retail sales gained in October 2017 according to the Census Bureau.  After an upwardly revised tally of 1.9 percent (originally 1.6 percent) in September, receipts grew 0.2 percent.  This slowdown was anticipated because the prior month’s tally was influenced by post-hurricane vehicle replacement which caused auto sales to jump 4.6 percent as the third-quarter came to a close.

Prices Americans pay for goods and services increased in October 2017 according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  After jumping 0.5 percent in September, inflation decelerated to 0.1 percent.  Additionally, the year-over-year trend for this indicator eased to 2.0 percent from 2.2 percent.  Core-CPI, which excludes food and energy

According to anecdotal evidence, slacklining is gaining popularity.  I have seen participants engaged in the balancing act more frequently lately.  Slacklining is an activity requiring stability and various levels of tension.  Essentially, a line is suspended between two trees with a modest amount of “slack” creating a dynamic line which will stretch and bounce while

Inflationary pressures continued their recent advance according to the October 2017 Producer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  For a second consecutive month, the headline figure increased 0.4 percent.  On a year-over-year basis, the trend accelerated to 2.8 percent from 2.6 percent in September.

America’s fiscal year 2018 is underway, and the Department of Treasury celebrated the New Year with a larger deficit than in October 2016 (the beginning of last fiscal year).  Our nation’s budget shortfall was $63.2 billion, an increase of 37.9 percent compared to a year ago.  Although receipts grew versus the same period a year ago, spending accelerated more.

Small business confidence remained elevated during October 2017 according to data from the National Federation of Independent Businesses’ (NFIB) Optimism Index.  This indicator made back some of the 2.3 point decline in September, gaining 0.8 in the latest survey.  Of the ten components, four rose, five declined marginally, and one remained unchanged.

Economic output remained robust during October 2017 according to data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).  Measures quantifying the health of both the manufacturing and service sides of the economy suggest output is strong.  Despite a modest cooling in the manufacturing tally (58.7 versus 60.8 in September), this cyclically sensitive portion of output remains well ahead of

A Mahayana Buddhist tale describes two birds, the Kankucho, who live high atop the world's tallest mountains.  It's always cold there, so too are they.  Every night Mrs. Kankucho cries out "I'm freezing." and Mr.

Data were mixed in the latest release on International Trade from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  On the one hand, the trade deficit increased which will subtract from gross domestic product (GDP).  On the other hand, both components of the indicator increased versus a month earlier, suggesting growing global output.  In total, the trade deficit increased to $43.5 billion in Se

America’s productivity jumped from July through September of 2017 according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Output-per-labor-hour increased 3.0 percent on an annualized basis, doubling the prior quarter’s pace.  This jump is the best quarterly improvement since the third quarter of 2014.  Additionally, unit labor costs rose as employee compensation