Tag Archives: autos
Consumer Confidence Jumps with Asset Prices, Cheaper Gas
Consumer sentiment jumped to 83.7 in May, the highest level since July 2007. A pickup in net worth via the stock market, home values and falling prices at the pump all helped fuel the gains. Consumers’ assessments of their personal finances jumped to 97.5, the highest level since late 2007. The gains, however, were concentrated [...]
Income Disappoints; Spending Surprises to Upside
Personal income increased at a modest 0.2% pace in March, slower than most were expecting. The moderation was widespread with rental income the only category to remain resilient, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone paying rent. Consumer spending also increased at a 0.2% pace, but most were expecting a pause. The largest upside [...]
Durable Goods Disappoint on Aircraft Orders
Durable goods orders fell 5.7% in March, the second decline in a row, though the increase in February was revised somewhat smaller than initially reported. The bulk of the drop occurred in nondefense aircraft and parts, which plummeted 48.2%. Declines were also posted in metals, machinery and electrical equipment. Orders for vehicles continued to rise [...]
Durable Goods Jump on Aircraft Orders
Durable goods orders jumped 5.7% in February from the month earlier, helped by a rebound in orders at Boeing. Aircraft orders alone were up a whopping 95.3% in February after plummeting in January. Vehicle orders also increased during the month, which bodes well for the auto industry. There is also some linkage between vehicle orders [...]
Consumer Prices Temporarily Surge on Gas Prices
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.7% in February; almost three quarters of that gain can be attributed to a 9.1% surge in gasoline prices, which has since been reversed. We also saw increases in other energy measures that pushed up consumer prices during the month. Increases in food prices were much more benign;
Consumers Show Resilience in February
Consumer Shows Resilience in February Retail sales rose 1.1% in February, after being revised up in January. This gives credence to some of the recent strength in the broader stock indices and the importance to most households of rising housing prices. The increases in home prices have boosted household wealth and allowed consumers to spend [...]
Trade Deficit Widens on Drop in Exports
The trade deficit widened to $44.4 billion in January, up from $38.1 billion in December. Exports of industrial supplies and materials were particularly weak; exports of capital goods, foods and vehicles continued to rise. Imports increased marginally across the board. The sharp narrowing of the trade deficit in December was more of an anomaly than [...]
ADP Employment Strong; Mortgage Applications Surge
ADP private sector employment posted gains of 198,000 in February, along with upward revisions for the month of January. Gains were concentrated in small businesses, which in the ADP report represent more business startups than we see in the initial cut in data for monthly employment collected by the government. We are also seeing direct [...]
January Incomes Plummet but Spending Edges Higher
Personal disposable incomes contracted at a whopping 4% monthly pace in January in response to a combination of hedging on tax hikes in December (which pulled income from January into December) and actual tax hikes on January 1. The expiration of the payroll tax holiday was a particularly large hit at the start of the [...]
A Good Omen for Business Investment
Durable goods orders dropped at 5.2% in January. All of that decline, however, may be attributed to a drop in the volatile transportation sector, which was dominated by a large fall in aircraft orders. Orders excluding transportation rose 1.9%, the fastest pace in a year. Machinery orders surged at a double-digit pace during the month, [...]
Bloomberg asks Diane Swonk to explain Fed concern over unemployment
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