The trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continued to increase as new variants spread. Vaccination progress accelerated, and we passed a critical milestone of more than 100 million Americans having received at least one shot of a vaccine. The severe winter storms in February caused pending home sales to fall, just like we saw in … Continued
The trend in new daily COVID-19 cases is on the rise again as new variants are spreading rapidly in many areas. Economic activity is also increasing, which is likely contributing to the virus spread but is also helping to improve employment conditions. The severe winter storms in February caused home sales and personal spending to … Continued
The trend in new daily COVID-19 cases has stopped declining, but hospitalizations and deaths continue to fall. Improving conditions are leading to rollbacks of restrictions, and economic activity is picking up. But joblessness remains stubbornly high. Jobless claims mixed: The jobless claims data last week were mixed. New initial jobless claims increased. Traditional continuing claims declined by … Continued
Tax season is off to a slow start this year due to pandemic-related impacts and delays the IRS instituted related to when filings were accepted and when refunds would start to be issued. As a result, the current tax return season is well behind prior years, which in turn impacts the year-over-year comparisons we have … Continued
The board of the Federal Reserve Bank met earlier this week and confirmed their decision not to move monetary policy and issued a statement seen by many as optimistic: “… indicators of economic activity and employment have turned up recently, although the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic remain weak. Inflation continues to run below … Continued
U.S. monetary policy was unchanged today as the Fed issued their official statement following their second meeting of 2021. The biggest changes in the official statement were in this section covering current conditions: “…indicators of economic activity and employment have turned up recently, although the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic remain weak. Inflation … Continued
The downward trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continues. Improving conditions are leading to rollbacks of restrictions, and economic activity and employment are improving as a result. Traditional jobless claims are seeing gradual declines. However, pandemic assistance claims, which have been extended through September, are growing. Joblessness remains high: Traditional and new jobless claims are trending … Continued
The downward trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continues, and the vaccine rollout is accelerating. Improving conditions are leading to rollbacks of restrictions, and employment data are starting to reflect solid job gains as a result. Jobs recovery resumes: February saw 379,000 new jobs – twice what was expected, triggering another tick down in the unemployment … Continued
We are past the effect of the severe winter weather a week ago. As a result, COVID-19 testing is growing again, and the new daily case trend is again on the rise. Still, it remains well below the case trend in January or early February. Consumers spend: Consumer spending increased in January as incomes jumped with … Continued
The downward trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continues, but winter weather impacted economic activity and vehicle sales over the past two weeks though housing strengthened. Retail sales rise: Retail sales jumped in January, supported by the $600 stimulus checks issued early in the month in the $900 billion stimulus package signed into law at … Continued
