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Increasing for a fifth consecutive period, industrial production rose 0.4 percent in June 2107.  Released by the Federal Reserve, this indicator measures everything physically produced in America, from paperclips to sophisticated aerospace equipment.  Also included in the release is capacity utilization which quantifies how much of the country’s resources for physical output are

Prices paid by producers and wholesalers edged higher in June 2017 according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After remaining unchanged in May, the Producer Price Index (PPI) managed an uptick of just 0.1 percent. Compared to a year earlier, this price proxy is 2.0 percent higher, falling from 2.4 percent in the prior month.

Washington D. C. seems to have a lot of influence on the way business owners feel. Small Business Optimism, as measured by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), jumped immediately after the presidential election.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, summer is in full swing. Each weather report seems to mention a heatwave that is either coming or going. While our nearest star is high in the sky, my energy levels wane and electricity bill soars. Misery loves company, and utility executives could be suffering right alongside me, only their issues may just be getting started.

An old folk song tells of one Mr.