SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 – CPI INCREASES 0.4 PERCENT IN AUGUST The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent last month, with rises in the price of gasoline, recreation, household furnishings and used cars being the primary contributors. In the running 12-months, CPI is now up 1.3 percent after increasing 1.0 percent in the 12-months through July. The data beat economists’ expectations …
September 8, 2020 — US Government Debt Exceeds Size of the Economy
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 – US GOVERNMENT DEBT EXCEEDS SIZE OF THE ECONOMY U.S. government debt is on track to exceed the size of the economy for the 12 months ended September 30, a milestone not hit since World War II, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The federal debt held by the public is projected to reach or exceed …
August 31, 2020 — The Fed Approves New Strategy for Interest Rate Changes
AUGUST 31, 2020 – THE FED APPROVES NEW STRATEGY FOR INTEREST RATE CHANGES The Fed has dropped its longstanding practice of pre-emptively raising interest rates to control inflation, which will likely leave borrowing costs very low for a long time. The change will not affect current policy, as the practice has been used without being formally defined. Fed Chairman Powell …
August 24, 2020 — Jobless Claims Rise Last Week
AUGUST 24, 2020 – JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE LAST WEEK After falling for three consecutive weeks, jobless claims rose again to over one million. The week before was the first time in 21 weeks that initial claims fell below 1 million. The rise in claims, week over week, was modest, but indicates the return to a stable economy will not be …
August 17, 2020 — Fed Reduces Bond Buybacks as Market Stabilizes
AUGUST 17, 2020 – FED REDUCES BOND BUYBACKS AS MARKET STABILIZES The Fed has halved its corporate bond spending as the markets have stabilized to levels close to pre-pandemic pricing. The daily rate of purchases has slowed to $12 million daily, from $24 million per day a week ago, and $300 million in the early days. Last week, the Fed …
August 10, 2020 — Jobless Rate Falls to 10.2% in July
AUGUST 10, 2020 – JOBLESS RATE FALLS TO 10.2% IN JULY The US economy added 1.763 million jobs in July, which lowered the overall unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, versus 11.1 percent in June; expectations were exceeded as an increase of 1.48 million jobs and a 10.6 percent unemployment rate were predicted. Even though numbers are up, payroll growth did …
August 4, 2020 — We Face a Rocky Road Ahead
AUGUST 3, 2020 – WE FACE A ROCKY ROAD AHEAD Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke last Wednesday, saying the coronavirus and the economic recovery are inseparably linked. He said “the path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus.” He also noted economic activity and employment have picked up recently, but credit and debit card spending, …
July 27, 2020 — Jobless Claims Rise as Coronavirus Continues
JULY 27, 2020 – JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE AS CORONAVIRUS CONTINUES The number of unemployment claims filed rose more than expected last week with the Labor Department reporting jobless claims of 1.416 million. It’s the 18th straight week where initial claims exceeded more than 1 million, and broke a 15-week trend of declining initial claims. Economists polled expected 1.3 million claims. …
July 20, 2020 — Mortgage Rates Fall to Record Lows
JULY 20, 2020 – MORTGAGE RATES FALL TO RECORD LOWS The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 2.98% last week, the lowest levels in almost 50 years of record keeping. As a result, applications to refinance a home loan, which are most sensitive to weekly rate moves, jumped 12% for the week and were 107% higher than …
July 13, 2020 — Producer Price Index Falls Unexpectedly in June
JULY 13, 2020 – PRODUCER PRICE INDEX FALLS UNEXPECTEDLY IN JUNE US producer prices fell 0.2 percent in June after rebounding 0.4 percent in May. The 12-month PPI is down 0.8 percent. The US Economy continues to face depressed demand as the Coronavirus epidemic continues its hold on the country. Economists expected the PPI to climb by 0.4 percent in …