Economic Data

We got the data on consumption, savings and income from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). What we saw should definitely bolster the view that recovery has taken hold but at the expense of saving. The BEA…

Going forward, due to time constraints I will not be publishing a weekly jobless claims report. However, I will report on the data when they are significant. Early next month, a much anticipated non-farm payroll (NFP)number is coming out.…

Consider this: Despite a rising population, non-farm payrolls in the United States are lower than they were a decade ago. The unemployment challenge is not just cyclical, it is secular. Sectors of the economy with a challenge include…

I was just reviewing some of the commentary from this January's Barron's Roundtable. I thought Felix Zulauf's take on macro trends for investors was spot on.  His comments on currencies in particular inspired this post. Zulauf sees…

David Rosenberg, Chief Economist at Gluskin Sheff, has recently given a couple of different views about the near term future for housing prices. These views are different only in degree: both are negative. Home Prices May Drop 20% Further…

Highlights The US dollar is firmer against most major currencies. The euro, together with the Swiss franc and Swedish krona are the worst performers.  The euro failed to make a clear break above $1.38 yesterday and news reports…

Last week the federal Reserve released its quarterly flow of funds data. I have been unusually slow to parse the numbers. But I did do a very comprehensive sweep of the historical data in an October 2009 post called A brief look at the…

This is a post from John Lounsbury which will cover ground on the official designation of recessions and his own designation of depressions about which he has written in the past. Previous articles in this series have discussed: The…

Highlights The US dollar is firmer against most currencies. The euro failed to extend Friday’s break up out of the $1.3436-$1.3788 range in which it has been trading since Mar 17th while against the Swiss franc, the euro is trading at its…

The February US retail sales data was much stronger than expected, even when taking into account the downward revisions in January.  A picture of a broadening of the recovery is emerging.   Looking at the Jan-Fed period…