- Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2014, after increasing at 5.0% in the previous quarter. In the “second” estimate, released a month ago, the increase in real GDP was also 2.2%. The price index for gross domestic purchases decreased 0.1% in the fourth quarter, following a 1.4% increase in the third quarter.
- Real GDP increased 2.4% in the year 2014, compared with an increase of 2.2% in 2013. The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.4% in 2014, following an increase of 1.3% in 2013.
- Corporate profits from current production decreased $30.4 billion in the fourth quarter, after an increase of $64.5 billion in the previous quarter. For the year 2014, profits from current production decreased $17.1 billion, in contrast to an increase of $84.1 billion in 2013.
- New orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 1.4% in February, following a 2.0% increase in the previous month. Shipments decreased 0.2%, following a 1.4% decrease in January. Excluding transportation, new orders were down 0.4% from the previous month, while shipments were down 0.1%.
- February existing home sales increased 1.2% to an annualized rate of 4,880 thousand units. The February figure was 4.7% above the February 2014 figure. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $202.6 thousand, 7.5% above February 2014. There were 1,890 thousand homes for sale at the end of the month. This represents a supply of 4.6 months at the current sales rate, compared to 4.9 in February of 2014.
- February new home sales increased 7.8% to an annualized rate of 539 thousand units. The February figure was 24.8% above the February 2014 figure. The median sales price of new houses sold was $275.5 thousand, 2.6% above February 2014.
- U.S. House prices rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from December to January, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA). For the 12 months ending in January, U.S. prices rose 5.1%. The U.S. index is 3.5% below its March 2007 peak and is roughly the same as the December 2005 index level.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed average fixed mortgage rates moving down again across the board for the week. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.69% for the week ending March 26, down from last week when it averaged 3.78%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate averaged 4.40%.
- Mortgage applications increased 9.5% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending March 20th.
- The consumer price index (headline index), which decreased 0.7% in January, increased 0.2% in February. The core index increased 0.2%, the same increase as in the previous month. The headline index was unchanged for the 12-month period ending in February, while the core index was up 1.7%.
- Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.1% from January to February, seasonally adjusted. This stems from a 0.1% increase in average hourly earnings being offset by a 0.2% increase in the Consumer Price Index.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 9 thousand to 282 thousand in the week ending March 21. The 4-week moving average was 297 thousand, a decrease of 7.75 thousand from the previous week’s average. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 14 was 2,416 thousand, a decrease of 6 thousand from the previous week’s revised level.
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment decreased to 93.0 in March, from 95.4 in February.
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