Economic Data

A friend Scott caught this article on Bloomberg about the latest economic figures out of Japan: Japan’s economy expanded less than a third of the pace initially reported in the three months to September as companies slashed spending.…

I happen to think we are in (an unsustainable) recovery. And that means that the labour market, while poor is improving.  This is why my headline from the latest employment figures was “Unemployment rate recedes as worst of this…

The Census Bureau came out this morning with a report on “Manufacturer’s Shipments, Inventories and Orders” for October. The report was bullish as it showed new orders for manufactured goods rising for the sixth time in seven months. But,…

In the past few weeks I have been alarmed about the growing debate about deficits and taxes, so much so that I have moved to a double dip baseline from one of a multi-year recovery.  I find it in total disregard of past economic…

From the U.S. Department of Labor: In the week ending Nov. 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 462,000. The 4-week moving average was…

Gallup’s monthly economic  survey breaks down the employment situation by region in the U.S.. No region is doing great, but the West is doing the worst and the situation is getting worse.  Here is what they say: During a week…

The latest ISM numbers are in for the U.S., showing that the manufacturing sector expanded for a fourth consecutive month in November. The overall number was weaker in November at 53.6 than last month’s 55.7. But both new orders and…

House prices in Britain rose another 0.5% in November, putting them up 2.7% year-on-year. This is the seventh consecutive month of gains. All of the charts are looking spectacularly good. The only fly in the ointment is employment. …

Unemployment claims dropped dramatically to 466,000 this past week. This is the best data on the unemployment front we have seen in a long time. The prior week’s claims were also downwardly revised for the first time in a while. These…

Remember the fabled Goldilocks economy that we had during the Great Moderation: A Goldilocks economy is a not too hot or cold economy, sustaining moderate economic growth and a low inflation allowing for a market friendly monetary…