U.S. Economic News
February 26, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index edged down from +0.14 (revised) in December to +0.12 in January. The production and personal consumption & housing components made negative contributions while the employment and sales components made positive contributions. Chicago Fed Report
New home sales fell 7.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 593,000 in January, and are 1.0% below the January 2017 rate. The median sales price fell to $323,000 and the inventory of new homes jumped to 6.1 months at the current sales rate. Census Bureau Report
U.S. News
Justin Lahart of the Wall Street Journal writes that if employee wages begin to rise and inflation remains muted, corporate profits may suffer. Lahart argues that if companies begin to absorb higher labor costs in the absence of inflation, investors could experience losses. WSJ