Uncertainty Remains
March 27, 2026 A month into the fighting it is hard to see how the war can end soon despite Trump’s assurances that it is almost over. Iran’s missile arsenal has undoubtedly shrunk but it is not depleted. Iran still imposes enough of a threat to keep the Strait of...
Producer Price Index
March 18, 2026 . The Producer Price Index for final demand includes producer prices for goods, as well as prices for construction, services, government purchases, and exports and covers over 75% of domestic production. Producer prices for final demand rose 0.7% in...
Pending Home Sales
March 17, 2026 Pending home sales rose 1.8% in February to 72.1 after having fallen 1.0% in January. The National Association of Realtors chief economist, Lawrence Yun said, "Improved affordability seems to have led to aa climb in pending contracts, but warned that...
Homebuilder Confidence
March 16, 2026 Homebuilder confidenced rose 1 point in March to 38 afterr haaving been unchanged in February. Builders are still worried about the imposition of tariffs, high mortgage rate, and affordability. The breakeven point for this series is 50 so at 38 it...
Industrial Production
March 16, 2026 Industrial production rose 0.2% in February after gaining 0.7% in January. In the past year industrial production has risen 1.4.%. Breaking industrial production down into its three basic categories -- manufacturing, mining, and utilities -- ...
It is All About Oil
March 13, 2026 What started out as a relatively short-lived campaign to decapitate Iran’s leadership, dominate the sky, and eliminate Iran’s Navy, has turned into something that is likely to be a longer-lasting operation. Iran has successfully closed the Strait of...
Consumer Sentiment
Marach 13, 2026 The preliminary estimate of consumer sentiment for March declined 1.1 points to 55.5 after having risen 0.2 point in Febuary. Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said, "Consumer sentiment dipped about 2%, reaching its lowest reading of the...
GDP
March 13, 2026 The second estimate of fourth quarter GDP rose 0.7% which compares to the preliinary estimate of 1.4% and 4.4% growth in the third quarter. Much of the shortfall in fourth quarter growth was attributable to the government shutdown which appears to...
Personal Income and Consumption Expenditures — Monthly
March 13, 2026 Personal income rose 0.3% in January after climbing 0.4% in December . In the past year personal income has climbed 4.0%. Slower jobs growth has caused a much slower rate of growth in income since the beginning of last year. The growth in income...
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