Archive for December, 2014
Wednesday, December 24th, 2014
- Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 5.0% in the third quarter of 2014, after increasing 4.6% in the previous quarter, according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second estimate, released about a month ago, the increase in real GDP was 3.9%.
- The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.4% in the third quarter, compared to an increase of 2.0% in the previous quarter.
- Corporate profits from current production increased $64.5 billion in the third quarter, after an increase of $164.1 billion in the previous quarter.
- Personal income increased 0.4% in November, while personal consumption expenditures increased 0.6%. The price index for personal consumption expenditures decreased 0.2% in November, while the core index held steady. The price index (headline index) was up 1.2% from November 2013, while the core index was up 1.4%.
- New orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 0.7% in November, following a 0.3% increase in the previous month. Shipments decreased 0.4%, following a 0.1% decrease in the previous month. Year-to-date new orders were up 6.7%, while shipments were up 4.9%.
- November existing home sales decreased 6.1% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 4,930 thousand units, according to the National Association of Realtors. This represents a 2.1% increase from a year ago. There were 2,090 thousand existing homes for sale at the end of the month. This represents a supply of 5.1 months at the current sales rate, the same rate as in November of 2013. The median sales price of existing houses sold was 5.0% above November 2013.
- November new home sales decreased 1.6% to an annualized rate of 438 thousand units. The November figure was 1.6% below the November 2013 figure. The median sales price of new houses sold was $280.9 thousand, up 1.2% from a year ago.
- U.S. House prices rose 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from September to October, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) monthly House Price Index. For the 12 months ending in October, U.S. prices rose 4.5%. The index is now 5.1% below its April 2007 peak and is roughly the same as the September 2005 index level.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of December 24th showed average fixed mortgage rates edging slightly higher while remaining near their 2014 lows. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average 3.83% for the week ending December 24, up from last week when it averaged 3.80%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 9 thousand to 280 thousand in the week ending December 20. The 4-week moving average was 290.25 thousand, a decrease of 8.5 thousand from the previous week’s average.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment jumped to 93.6 in December, its highest level since January 2007.
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Sunday, December 21st, 2014
- Total Industrial production increased 1.3% in November, following a 0.1% increase in the previous month. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry was 80.1%, up 3.1% from November 2013.
- The current account deficit increased to $100.3 billion in the third quarter, from $98.4 billion in the previous quarter.
- Housing starts in November were down 1.6% from the previous month, and were down 7.0% from November 2013. Building permits in November were down 5.2% from the previous month, and were down 0.2% from November 2013.
- The housing market index of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo decreased a point to 57 in December.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of December 18th showed average fixed mortgage rates falling to new lows for this year. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.80% for the week ending December 18, down from last week when it averaged 3.93%.
- Mortgage applications decreased 3.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending December 12th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 6 thousand to 289 thousand in the week ending December 13.
- Real average hourly earnings for all employees rose 0.6% from October to November. This result stems from a 0.4% increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3% decrease in the consumer price index for all urban consumers.
- Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in November. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from October, three states had increases, and six states had no change.
- The consumer price index (headline index), which held steady in October, decreased 0.3% in November. The core index increased 0.2%. The consumer price index increased 1.3% for the 12-month period ending in November, while the core index rose 1.7%.
- The December 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity declined for New York manufacturers.
- The Philadelphia FED business outlook survey indicated that the pace of regional manufacturing activity remained positive but decreased in December.
- The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators increased 0.6% in November, the same increase as in the previous month.
- The Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep its target for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25%, and indicated that it will be appropriate to maintain this target range for a considerable time.
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Friday, December 12th, 2014
- Advance estimates of retail and food services sales for November were up 0.7% from the previous month, and were up 5.1% from November 2013.
- Total manufacturing and trade sales for October were down 0.1%, while inventories were up 0.2%.
- Sales of merchant wholesalers in October were up 0.2%, while inventories were up 0.4%.
- The federal government budget ran a deficit of $56.8 billion in November, after a deficit of $121.7 billion in the previous month.
- Domestic non-financial debt rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.4% in the third quarter, following an increase of 3.4% in the previous quarter.
- The producer price index for final demand (headline index) decreased 0.2% in November, while the core index decreased 0.1%. The producer price index for finished goods increased 1.4% from November 2013 to November 2014.
- The import price index decreased 1.5% in November, while export prices decreased 1.0%. The import price index decreased 2.3% from November 2013, while the price index for exports decreased 1.9%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 3 thousand to 294 thousand in the week ending December 6.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of December 11th showed average fixed mortgage rates slightly up from the previous week, but with the average 30-year fixed-rate remaining below 4.0%.
- Mortgage applications increased 7.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending December 5th.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, preliminary, rose in December.
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Friday, December 5th, 2014
- Total non-farm payroll employment rose 321 thousand in November, following an increase of 243 thousand in the previous month. Private-sector payrolls increased 314 thousand in the month, while government employment increased 7 thousand.
- The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8%.
- The average workweek increased by 0.1 to 34.6 hours. Average hourly earnings increased by 9 cents to $24.66. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings were up 2.1%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 17 thousand to 297 thousand in the week ending November 29. The 4-week moving average was 299 thousand, up 4.75 thousand from the previous week’s average.
- Third quarter productivity increased 2.3% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the non-farm business sector, following a 2.9% increase in the previous quarter. From the third quarter of 2013 to the third quarter of 2014, productivity rose 1.0%. Unit labor costs were down 1.0% from the previous quarter, but were up 1.2% from the same quarter a year ago.
- Sales of domestic cars increased 2.7% in November, while total light vehicle (cars and light trucks) sales increased 4.5%. Total light vehicle sales were 17.1 million units in November, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, compared to 16.2 million in November of 2013.
- New orders for manufactured goods decreased 0.7% in October, while shipments of manufactured goods decreased 0.8%.
- In October international trade deficit was $43.4 billion, $0.2 billion less than the revised September figure. The cumulative deficit for the first 10 months of 2014 was $423.5 billion, compared with a deficit of $403.0 billion during the first 10 months of 2013.
- October construction spending was up 1.1% from the previous month, and was up 3.3% from October 2013.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of December 4th showed average fixed mortgage rates moving lower. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.89% for the week ending December 4, down from last week when it averaged 3.97%.
- Mortgage applications decreased 7.3% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending November 28.
- In October, consumer credit outstanding increased at an annual rate of 4.9%. Revolving credit increased 1.3%, while non-revolving credit increased 6.2%.
- The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing survey indicated that the manufacturing sector expanded in November for the 18th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 66th consecutive month.
- In May, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) non-manufacturing survey results indicated growth in the non-manufacturing business activity for the 58th consecutive month.
- The FED’s “Beige Book” indicated that economic activity continued to expand in October and November.
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