Federal Reserve

Hints of inflation are wafting through the economy per data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Their widely-watched Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.5 percent to start this year.  January’s year-over-year statistic posted 2.1 percent, matching December’s tally.  Core-CPI (excluding food and energy) managed an uptick of 0.3 percent to start 2018, and its year-ove

Personal income and spending each improved to end 2017, but their rates of change were different.  Americans’ pay managed to grow just 0.3 percent while outlays increased 0.5 percent.  Additionally, there was a key revision to the prior period’s tally as outlays actually increased 0.8 percent (originally 0.6 percent), but November’s income tally remained as initially

America’s output of physically made goods improved 0.9 percent in December 2017 according to the Industrial Production figures from the Federal Reserve.  This strong uptick followed the downwardly revised count of 0.1 percent in November (originally up 0.2 percent).  Versus twelve months earlier, this indicator is 3.6 percent higher.

Prices paid by Americans were higher in December 2017 according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  However, the rates of change were mixed.  For instance, the month-over-month Consumer Price Index (CPI) decelerated to just 0.1 percent after hitting 0.4 percent a month earlier, and the year-over-year tally slowed to 2.1 percent from 2.2 percent.  However, core-CPI (whic

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! 

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.

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

Janet Yellen, the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, has very little explaining left to do.  She presided over her penultimate Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, followed by a press conference; her final meeting, coming at the end of January, is not scheduled to include news organizations.

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

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