LAST WEEK

News & Commentary Weekly Highlights:

• Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Investigate Impact of Automation and Robotics on U.S. Jobs (Wednesday)
• Real Clear Markets: The Obnoxious Fallacy of Mandated Prosperity (Wednesday)
• Wall Street Journal: Insurers Seek Big Premium Increases (Wednesday)
• International Business Times: U.S. Remained Top Petroleum, Natural Gas Producer in the World in 2015 (Monday)
• Bloomberg: Boring Is Beautiful to U.S. Treasury Shunning Latest Bond Craze (Sunday)

 

Top Economic Indicator Highlights:

Gross Domestic Product (second estimate, Q1-2016)

• Real GDP Quarterly Change (annual rate): 0.8%, Previous quarter: 1.4%, Recovery avg.: 2.1%
• Noteworthy: First quarter annualized real GDP growth was revised up slightly from an initial 0.5% estimate. Private inventory investment decreased less than previously estimated. The increase in real GDP reflects positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures, residential fixed investment, and state and local government spending that was partly offset by negative contributions from nonresidential fixed investment, exports, private inventory investment, and federal government spending. The third and final estimate of GDP for the first quarter of 2016 will be released on June 28^th.
• Current Forecasts for Q2 2016: Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecasts second quarter real GDP growth at 2.9%. Wells Fargo’s current second quarter 2016 forecast for annualized real GDP growth is 1.4%.

 

JEC Releases:

• JEC Examines Impact of Robots and Automation on Workforce and Economy (Wednesday)
• Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto: The Transformative Impact of Automation (Thursday)

 

THIS WEEK

Upcoming Economic Reports & Releases:

Major Indicators

• Personal Income and Outlays (8:30am, Tuesday)
• S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (9am, Tuesday)
• Motor Vehicle Sales (Wednesday)
• Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Index (10am, Wednesday)
• Construction Spending (10am, Wednesday)
• Employment Situation (8:30am, Friday)
• International Trade (8:30am, Friday)
• Factory Orders (10am, Friday)
• Institute for Supply Management Non-Manufacturing Index (10am, Friday)

 

Reports

• Beige Book (2pm, Wednesday)

 

Chart of the Week:

 

 

 

The chart above organizes jobs as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as either within or related to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and those that are non-STEM. Further, the median annual wage for STEM and non-STEM jobs is broken down by typical education needed for job entry. In nearly all cases, STEM jobs pay better than non-STEM jobs at every level of education.