Publications

U.S. Economic Indicators

Retail sales rose 0.3% in October and were up 5.7% from a year ago. Core sales — which exclude autos, gasoline, building materials, and food services —  edged up 0.1%.  Census Bureau Report

Industrial production rose 1.1% in October but is down 5.3% year-over-year. Capacity utilization rose 0.8 point to 72.8. Fed Report

Business inventories edged up 0.7% in September but were down 4.7% from September of last year. Manufacturers’ sales rose 0.3% in September but were down 1.9% compared to a year ago. Census Bureau Report

The NAHB Housing Market Index increased five points to 90 in November, a new all-time high. NAHB reports that low mortgage rates and the ongoing shift toward the suburbs is keeping builder confidence elevated. NAHB Report

U.S. Economic Indicators

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that business activity expanded slightly in November as the headline index eased 4.2 points to 6.3. The new orders index fell 8.6 points to 3.7, the shipments index fell 11.5 points to 6.3, and the index for number of employees increased 2.2 points to 9.4. NY Fed Report

U.S. News

The Financial Times reports that surging coronavirus cases across the country pose an imminent threat to the U.S. economy amid new restrictions on business activity without accompanying fiscal support. President-elect Joe Biden is calling for urgent action on new stimulus to support businesses and consumers, though major disagreements remain between Democrat and Republican lawmakers. FT

U.S. Economic Indicators

The headline Producer Price Index (“PPI”) for final demand rose 0.3% in October and is up 0.5% year-over-year. The core – which removes the volatile prices of food, energy, and trade services – rose 0.2% and is up 0.8% from a year ago. BLS Report

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell 4.8 points to 77.0 in the preliminary November reading and is down 19.8 points from November of last year. The Index of Consumer Expectations fell 7.9 points to 71.3, while the Current Economic Conditions Index edged down 0.1 point to 85.8. University of Michigan

U.S. Economic Indicators

Initial jobless claims fell 48,000 to 709,000 last week. The four-week moving average decreased 33,250 to 755,250. DOL Report

Consumer prices were unchanged in October (up 1.2% from a year ago) after increasing 0.2% in September. The “core” CPI, which excludes food and energy, was also unchanged in October (up 1.6% from last year). BLS Report

U.S. Economic Indicators

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index was unchanged at 104.0 in October as four components improved, five weakened, and one was unchanged. Expectations for future earnings improved while plans to increase employment softened. NFIB Report

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (“JOLTS”) indicated that the number of job openings was little changed at 6.4 million in September. The number of hires was little changed at 5.9 million, while the quits rate was little changed at 2.1 percent. BLS Report