U.S. monetary policy is now entering a tightening phase as the Fed issued their official statement following their seventh meeting of 2021. As expected, the Fed announced that tapering would begin this month. We know now that tapering will proceed,…

The declining trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continued last week but the rate of decline slowed, and consumer sentiment is still declining. The Delta variant wave peaked in September and caused a slowing in the pace of real growth…

Job creation numbers for September were disappointing, though new jobless claims fell as did the unemployment rate – to a pandemic low – while wages grew. New-vehicle sales nosedived on low inventories, delivering the lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR)…

The declining trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continued last week, but consumer confidence still saw declines. Consumer spending growth accelerated in August even as income growth slowed. Inflation in August, according to the Fed’s preferred measure, was at the…

The trend in new daily COVID-19 cases declined last week. Consumer sentiment has been up and down and has lost some ground so far in September. New jobless claims increased again last week. New construction trends are improving as multifamily…

U.S. monetary policy was unchanged today as the Fed issued their official statement following their sixth meeting of 2021. The most important information coming out of this meeting was direction on future policy, namely when tapering might begin and if…

After declining in the first week of September, the trend in new daily COVID-19 cases resumed increasing last week. Consumer sentiment declined again, and sentiment is now down slightly in September following declines in July and August. Initial jobless claims…

New daily COVID-19 cases declined last week, but the Labor Day holiday caused at least some of the decline. Jobless claims continued to decline to new lows for the pandemic, and consumer sentiment edged out a small gain for the…

The surging Delta variant of COVID-19 is having a major impact on the economy, especially on jobs. August saw a big deceleration in job creation, including zero new jobs created in Leisure & Hospitality, which had been growing fast. Pending…

The growth trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continued last week, but the pace of growth is slowing. Consumer sentiment declined again in August. Consumer spending slowed while inflation rose to its highest level in more than 30 years. The…