U.S. Economic News
January 26, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The first estimate of Q4 GDP indicates that the U.S. economy expanded at an annualized rate of 2.6%, slightly below consensus. The reading reflects healthy consumer spending, business investment, residential investment, as well as strong contributions from government spending. BEA Report
The U.S. Census Bureau Advance Economic Indicators Report shows that the goods deficit widened to $71.6 billion in December from $70.0 billion in November. Meanwhile, wholesale inventories inched up 0.2% and retail inventories also edged up 0.2%. Census Bureau Report
New orders of manufactured durable goods jumped 2.9% in December after increasing 1.7% (revised) in November, and are up 5.8% year-over-year. Excluding transportation, new orders rose 0.6% (up 6.3% Y/Y). Census Bureau Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that new tax rules are incentivizing factory owners to implement more automation and robots in their factories. The ability to fully and immediately deduct the cost of equipment purchases for the next five years has driven owners to pull forward investment that they may have otherwise put off due to the old tax structure. WSJ