Economic Data

This daily commentary is a bronze-level post. Barclays Capital has a US Macro Data Surprise Index and it was at all time highs in February. It has since dipped.

The FOMC did tweak its outlook but maintained its pledge to keep rates low through 2014. February retail sales were stronger than expected. Equities rallied sharply as a result and, more importantly, the US Treasury market sold off. With…

This daily commentary is a bronze-level post. A lot of the data coming through in recent weeks shows the US recovery will continue for a bit. I caught two or three data points in the links today about this so I wanted to flag it for the…

This is a gold level post. According to the US Bureau of labor Statistics, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3 percent. Here are my thoughts on what this signals about the…

The Greek government said PSI went through with a 95.7% participation rate after CACs were activated. Before the CACs, however, that rate was only 85.8%. ISDA’s determinations committee will decide today at 08:00 EST whether a credit event…

This will be a bronze level post. We see a number of data points in today's links that point to economic growth and employment dynamics that vary widely across the developed economies.

The chart below tracks the economy of the United States and selected European economies, demonstrating the varying impact of the financial crisis there. March 2007 is the reference point where Real GDP is re-based at 100.

Spanish 10-years yields continue to rise above those of Italy, and suggest that Spain may be the next country in the hot seat. Data released today confirms that the contraction in Spanish industrial production is still ongoing, with…

This is a gold level post. I want to flag this as an issue since no one seems to be talking about it. Brazil's economy has slowed very sharply of late and along with slowdowns in India and China, it says that the global economy will get…

Developments in the Netherlands may steal the limelight as the French election is still more than a month away. The key issue in the Netherlands is that last week, the Dutch Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis warned that next year's deficit…