Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Initial claims are positive, while hurricane-adjusted continued claims are neutral

 – by New Deal democrat This week’s jobless claims reflect a little more complex scenario than usual, because the hurricane effects have disappeared from initial claims and their four week average, but likely are affecting continued claims, and are also likely to have a negative impact for the unemployment rate in the next jobs report. […]

What to look for if housing construction does forecast a recession

 – by New Deal democrat No data today, but since it is mainly a housing week, let me pick up on a topic I discussed at the end of yesterday’s post; namely, if housing does indeed forecast an oncoming recession, what should we expect next in that sector? To cut to the chase, ultimately we […]

Leading housing construction data stabilizes, while units under construction continue free-fall. With a continued hurricane asterisk

 – by New Deal democrat Housing data for October, like that for September, has to be viewed with an asterisk, due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Since the effects of both were in the South Census Region, where relevant in the analysis below I will also discuss the numbers excluding that region. The most leading […]

Whither housing? A look at interest rate and inflationary considerations

– by New Deal democrat Starting tomorrow we get to the time of month when the data on the important long leading sector of housing begins to be reported. So let me update a few important points about where this sector is likely going and its effects on the economy. As we probably all know […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for November 11 – 15

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. More the recent ‘same’ this week: short term and coincident indicators are a little noisy, but continue to say the economic OK. Meanwhile the longer leading indicators are mixed and weighing on future growth. As usual, clicking over and reading will bring […]

Production turns more negative

– by New Deal democrat Industrial and manufacturing production slid further in October, by -0.3% and -0.5% respectively. They are also down respectively -1.2% and -1.8% from their late 2022 highs: It’s a good thing I suppose that manufacturing is no longer such an important part of the American economy, because as the below graph of […]

Real retail sales jump nicely, but we’re not out of the woods on consumption just yet

 – by New Deal democrat Let me start with my usual reminder that real retail sales is one of my favorite economic indicators, because it tells us so much about the state of the consumer, and since consumption leads employment, it is a short leading indicator for that as well. In October retail sales rose 0.4% […]

Jobless claims complete their reversion to pre-hurricane-disruptions trend

– by New Deal democrat Initial claims have now completely reverted to trend after their recent hurricane-induced blip. Initial claims rose 3,000 for the week to 217,000, while the four week moving average decreased -5,750 to 221,000. With the typical one week delay, continuing claims declined -11,000 to 1.873 million: On the more important YoY basis, […]

October consumer Inflation firms, driven – as usual – by Shelter

 – by New Deal democrat Today’s CPI report for October generally showed stable monthly increases, but slight increases in YoY comparisons. But as usual, it was almost all about the usual culprit of shelter, as more fully parsed below; to wit:  – Headline CPI increased 0.2% for the month, the fourth month in a row […]

Incomes, immigration, and the election

Tuesday, November 12, 2024  – by New Deal democrat On Friday I wrote about how the Fed likely contributed, via hurting aspiring homeowners, to the outcome of the Election last week. Today I want to take a look at another issue – wages. As it happens, while I was writing this Paul Krugman put up […]