LAST WEEK

News & Commentary Weekly Highlights:

• Washington Times: Why Aren’t More Americans Working? (Friday)
• Market Watch: The Newest Obamacare Fail: Penalties of $36,500 per Worker (Thursday)
• Forbes: Government Is Standing in the Way of Millennial Entrepreneurs (Thursday)
• Market Watch: What’s Next for Greece Now Second Austerity Package Approved (Thursday)
• Bloomberg Business: Social Security, Medicare Outlook: Better but Still Bleak (Wednesday)

 

Top Economic Indicator Highlights:

New Home Sales (June)

• Seasonally adjusted annual pace: 482,000 units
• Change from previous month: -6.8%
• Change from last year: 18.1%
• Noteworthy: The median sales price of new homes sold was $281,800 in June, while the average sales price was $328,700.
• Addendum: In other home sales news, the National Association of Realtors data revealed a 3.2% increase in existing home sales, the highest pace since February 2007, and sales are up 9.6% from a year ago. The median existing home sale price was a record $236,400.

 

THIS WEEK

Upcoming Economic Reports & Releases:

Major Indicators

• Durable Goods Orders (8:30am, Monday)
• S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (9am, Tuesday)
• Pending Home Sales Index (10am, Wednesday)
• Gross Domestic Product (8:30am, Thursday)
• Employment Cost Index (8:30am, Friday)

Reports

• Federal Open Market Committee Meeting Announcement (2pm, Wednesday)

 

Chart of the Week: