U.S. Economic News
October 25, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose 2.3 points to 95.5 in the final October reading but is down 3.1 points from October of last year. The Index of Consumer Expectations rose 0.8 point to 84.2 while the Current Economic Conditions Index rose 4.7 points to 113.2. University of Michigan
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that renovation and maintenance spending, a barometer of housing market health, is expected to decline over the next year for the first time in a decade. Remodeling activity tends to be an effective bellwether of the housing market and consumer confidence, as home sellers tend to remodel before listing properties and homeowners are more likely to renovate when property values are rising. WSJ
According to a recent Bloomberg survey of economists, Fed officials are expected to reduce rates by another quarter percentage point at next week’s FOMC meetings and are likely to signal a subsequent pause in rate changes. Although the Fed has been refraining from providing forward guidance, the majority of surveyed economists expect Fed Chairman Powell to signal that rates will likely remain on hold at the December meeting. Bloomberg