Archive for November, 2013
Friday, November 29th, 2013
- New orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 2.0% in October, while shipments increased 0.2%.
- Housing starts decreased 0.9%, revised, in August. The U.S. Census Bureau indicated that accurate data collection for September and October could not be completed in time due to lapse in federal funding.
- Building permits in October were up 6.2% from September, and were up 13.9% from October 2012.
- The Pending Home Sales Index decreased 0.6% in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.
- U.S. House prices rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from August to September, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) monthly House Price Index. For the 12 months ending in September, U.S. prices rose 8.5%.
- The S & P/Case-Shiller National U.S. Home Price Indices posted annual increases of 13.3% in the 12 months ending in September.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of November 27th showed average fixed mortgage rates increasing slightly.
- Mortgage applications decreased 2.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending November 15th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 10 thousand to 316 thousand in the week ending November 23.
- The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which had decreased sharply in October, declined again in November.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment rose in November.
- The Conference Board’s leading and coincident indexes increased 0.2% in October.
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Friday, November 22nd, 2013
- Advance estimates of retail and food services sales for October were up 0.4% from the previous month, and were up 3.9% from October 2012.
- Total manufacturing and trade sales for September were up 0.2%, while inventories were up 0.6%.
- October existing home sales decreased 3.2% to an annualized rate of 5,120 thousand units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The October figure was 6.0% above the October 2012 figure. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $199.5 thousand, 12.8% above October 2012.
- The housing market index of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo held steady at 54 in November.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of November 21st showed average fixed mortgage rates declining.
- Mortgage applications decreased 2.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending November 15th.
- The producer price index for finished goods decreased 0.2% in October, while the core index increased 0.2%. The producer price index for finished goods increased 0.3% from October 2012 to October 2013, while the intermediate goods index decreased 0.8%.
- The consumer price index decreased 0.1% in October, while the core index increased 0.1%. The consumer price index increased 1.0% for the 12-month period ending in October, while the core index rose 1.7%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 21 thousand to 323 thousand in the week ending November 16.
- Real average hourly earnings for all employees rose 0.2% from September to October.
- The Employment Cost Index for total compensation rose 1.9% for the 12-month period ending September 2013. Wages & salaries increased 1.6%, while benefits increased 2.2%.
- The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey for November reported slower growth in manufacturing activity.
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Saturday, November 16th, 2013
- Total Industrial production decreased 0.1% in October, after a 0.7% increase in the previous month. The rate of capacity utilization was 78.1%.
- Sales of merchant wholesalers in September were up 0.6%, while inventories were up 0.4%.
- In September, international trade deficit was $41.8 billion, $3.1 billion more than the revised August figure. The cumulative trade deficit for the first nine months was $359.5 billion, compared with a cumulative deficit of $407.3 billion during the first nine months of 2012.
- The federal government budget ran a surplus of $91.6 billion in October, after a surplus of $75.1 billion in the previous month.
- Third quarter productivity increased 1.9% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the non-farm business sector, while unit labor costs decreased 0.6%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 2 thousand to 339 thousand in the week ending November 9.
- The import price index decreased 0.7% in October, while export prices decreased 0.5%. The import price index decreased 2.0% from October 2012, while export prices decreased 2.1%.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of November 14th showed average fixed mortgage rates moving higher for the second consecutive week.
- Mortgage applications decreased 1.8% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending November 8th.
- The November 2013 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that conditions weakened for New York manufacturers.
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Friday, November 8th, 2013
- Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2013, following an increase of 2.5% in the previous quarter.
- The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.8% in the third quarter, compared to an increase of 0.2% in the previous quarter.
- Personal income increased 0.5%, in September, while personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2%. The price index for personal consumption expenditures (headline index) and the core index both were up 0.1% in September. The price index (headline index) was up 0.9% from September 2012, while the core index was up 1.2%.
- New orders for manufactured goods increased 1.7% in September, while shipments of increased 0.1%.
- Sales of domestic cars increased 1.2% in October, while total light vehicle sales decreased 0.3% in October. Total vehicle sales were 15.154 million units in October, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, compared to 14.330 million in October of 2012.
- Total non-farm payroll employment rose 204 thousand in October, following an increase of 163 thousand in the previous month.
- The unemployment rate edged up to 7.3% in October, from 7.2% in September.
- The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls held steady at 34.4 hours. Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 2 cents. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings were up 2.2%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 9 thousand to 336 thousand in the week ending November 2.
- September consumer credit outstanding increased at an annual rate of 5.4%.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of November 7th showed average fixed mortgage rates moving higher for the first time in three weeks.
- Mortgage applications decreased 7.0% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending November 1st.
- The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) non-manufacturing survey results indicated growth in October.
- The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators increased 0.7% in September, while the coincident index increased 0.2%.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, preliminary, fell in November to its lowest level since December 2011.
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Friday, November 1st, 2013
- Advance estimates of retail and food services sales for September were down 0.1% from the previous month, but were up 3.2% from September 2012.
- Total manufacturing and trade sales for August were up 0.3% from the previous month, and were up 4.2% from August 2012. Total manufacturers’ and trade inventories for August were up 0.3% from the previous month, and were up 3.1% from August 2012.
- Total Industrial production increased 0.6% in September, after a 0.4% increase in the previous month. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 78.3%, 1.9 percentage points below its 1972-2012 average, but 1.1 percentage points above its level in September 2012.
- The federal government budget ran a surplus of $75.1 billion in September, after a deficit of $147.9 billion in the previous month. The budget surplus of $75.1 in September was $0.1 billion less than the surplus in September of 2012. The budget deficit for the fiscal year 2013 was $680.3 billion, $408.9 billion less than the deficit of $1,089.2 billion for the previous fiscal year.
- The S & P/Case-Shiller National U.S. Home Price Indices posted annual increases of 12.8% in the 12 months ending in August.
- The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading indicator for the housing sector, decreased 5.6% to a reading of 101.6 in September, according to the National Association of Realtors. This was the fourth consecutive monthly decrease.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of October 31st showed average fixed mortgage rates declining for the second consecutive week.
- Mortgage applications increased 6.4% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending October 25th.
- The producer price index for finished goods decreased 0.1% in September, following a 0.3% increase in the previous month. The core index, which held steady in August, increased 0.1% in September. The producer price index for finished goods increased 0.3% from September 2012 to September 2013.
- The consumer price index increased 0.2% in September, following a 0.1% increase in the previous month. The core index increased 0.1%, the same increase as in the previous month. The consumer price index increased 1.2% for the 12-month period ending in September, while the core index rose 1.7%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 10 thousand to 340 thousand in the week ending October 26th.
- Real average hourly earnings for all employees were unchanged from August to September.
- The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing survey indicated that the manufacturing sector expanded in October for the fifth consecutive month.
- The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which had declined moderately in September, decreased sharply in October.
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