U.S. Economic News
October 19, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
Existing home sales declined 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.15 million in September, and are 4.1% below year-ago levels. NAR notes that this is now the lowest level for existing home sales since November 2015, reflecting climbing mortgage rates and declining inventory of affordable homes. NAR Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that China’s economic growth slowed to its weakest pace since the financial crisis in the third quarter of 2018 as consumer spending and industrial output weakened. Other factors contributing to the slowdown include a protracted trade conflict with the U.S. and a massive local government and corporate debt overhang. WSJ
Kate Davidson of the Wall Street Journal writes that Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles reaffirmed the Federal Reserve’s plan to gradually hike interest rates as the economy heats up. Quarles also said that usual measures of inflation may not be good indicators of potential overheating in the economy and that the Fed should instead pay more attention to indicators of labor utilization or signs of production bottlenecks. WSJ