New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for October 20 – 24
– by New Deal democrat
My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha.
This is a good time for a reminder that very little of the high frequency data has been affected by the federal government shutdown, because almost all of it comes from the Fed or regional Feds, States, and private sources.
That data continues to paint a picture of continued expansion fueled by consumer spending, likely largely coming from stock market gains. At the same time, there are important signs that actual goods producing and transporting sectors are flagging, if not quite negative.
Two additional points,
- Lower-income households show some spending recovery, but growth remains muted compared to middle and higher-income groups. Likely due to softer wage gains in this cohort.
- Middle and higher-income households have stronger wage growth. Higher-income spending is likely benefiting from wealth effects. Discretionary spending of the top 5% of households by income tends to widen compared to the middle-income cohort when the S&P 500 is rising.
As usual, clicking over and reading will bring you as up to date as to the economy as possible, while rewarding me a little bit for my efforts.
“New Deal Democrats Weekly Indicators for October 13 – 17,” at Angry Bear by New Deal democrat