U.S. Economic News
November 15, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
Retail sales rose 0.3% in October and are up 3.1% from a year ago. Core sales — which exclude autos, gasoline, building materials, and food services — rose 0.3%. Census Bureau Report
Industrial production declined 0.8% in October (down 1.1% year-over-year) after falling 0.3% (revised) in September. Capacity utilization declined 0.8 percentage point to 76.7 in October. Fed Report
Business inventories were essentially unchanged in September but were up 3.6% from September of last year. Manufacturers’ sales declined 0.2% in September and were down 0.5% compared to a year ago. Census Bureau Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that Democrats are moving toward an agreement with the Trump administration to resolve key issues currently holding up passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Progressive Democrats have been pushing for stronger labor protections and enforcement provisions to prevent U.S. companies from moving across the border to cut costs. WSJ