Quiet Until Friday
This week was a pretty quiet week with economic data until Friday. Today we got the September retail sales were up 0.6%, which was more than expected, and the PPI (producer price index) was up 0.3%. Both are signals that higher inflation could be on the horizon. On...Some Good News, Some Bad News
It was a week of some good and some bad news for the economy, with investors mixed reactions. Tuesday we got the Q2 productivity numbers: DOWN 0.5%; our Unit Labor Costs were up 2% (costs being up indicates possible inflation). Friday we got July’s Retail Sales...
Changing Rates Equals Good Economic News
Rates creeped up this week on good economic news. The jobless claims for the week were down 6000 to 247,000. March existing home sales were up 5.1%, yet building permits dropped 7.7&% and housing starts were 8.7% lower. Some would say this is bad news for the...