Economic Data

You can be bearish and point to the potential for a double dip all you want (I certainly do). But to dismiss out of hand the huge uptick in manufacturing is just crazy.  These numbers are off the charts bullish.   Witness the…

I have sifted through the most recent personal income data and wanted to show you a few charts that might indicate where we’re heading. First, there is personal income.  It’s fallen off a cliff since the recession began. Looking at…

This is a post which was originally published at A Fistful of Euros. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain’s prime minister, said in Davos this week: “We are a serious country and we will fulfil our promises.” With these…

I am in the process of crunching the numbers from today’s report on U.S. personal income and outlays. The monthly data came out at 8:30 EST this morning but I think the quarterly data is more interesting because it goes back to 1947, where…

The eurozone’s manufacturing sector is growing at its fastest pace in two years.  However, there are dramatic differences in how manufacturing is faring within the eurozone which point to the currency as a major source for the loss of…

The BEA says: Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, (that is, from the…

This is the second week running that we have seen higher jobless claims.  Two weeks ago the 4-week average seasonally adjusted number was 440,750. This was a number reflective of steadily declining claims in the period leading up to…

The Big Picture has picked up on what appears to be an interesting development over at the NBER’s site. It seems like they are hedging there bets on a possible double dip recession beginning in late 2010 or 2011. As you may know, the NBER…

From the U.S. Department of Labor: In the week ending Jan. 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 482,000, an increase of 36,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 446,000. The 4-week moving average…

Back in June I asked you all “When will the U.S. economy recover?.” The response was basically either “there will be no recovery to speak of” or “recovery is a long way off.” The poll results are embedded below. I asked a similar…