U.S. Economic News
November 16, 2017
U.S. Economic Indicators
Industrial production jumped 0.9% in October (up 2.9% Y/Y), after rising 0.4% in September. Capacity utilization rose 0.6 point to 77.0 in October. Fed Report
The NAHB Housing Market Index rose 2.0 points to 70.0 in November. The outlook for the next six months improved modestly, though builders still face increased shortages of labor and rising material prices as rebuilding efforts continue after recent hurricanes. NAHB Report
Initial jobless claims increased 10,000 to 249,000 last week. The four-week moving average rose 6,500 to 237,750. DOL Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that the top trade officials from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico will not attend the next round of NAFTA negotiations. Although officials have targeted March 2018 for the conclusion of the talks, the three nations have made little meaningful progress towards an agreement on how to reform NAFTA. WSJ
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Treasury Department plans to increase the share of short-term debt it issues while reducing its long-term debt issuance. The Treasury hopes to reduce some of the upward pressure on long-term debt yields, a pressure that is expected to worsen as the Federal Reserve continues to reduce the size of its balance sheet in the coming years. WSJ