Weekly Economic Update: May 18-22, 2015
LAST WEEK
News & Commentary Weekly Highlights:
- Wall Street Journal: The Mystery of Declining Productivity Growth (Thursday)
- City Journal: The ACA’s Unintended Consequences (Thursday)
- Forbes: How Many People Has Obamacare Really Insured? (Thursday)
- Wall Street Journal: Dear Class of 2015, You’re in Big Trouble (Tuesday)
- Forbes: The Slow Decline in Involuntary Part-Time Work (Tuesday)
Top Economic Indicator Highlights:
Retail Sales (advance, April 2015)
- Change from previous month: 0.0%
- Change excluding autos (M/M): 0.1%
- Change in general merchandise (M/M): -0.5%
- Noteworthy: Department store sales fell 2.2% over the month; electronics & appliances fell for the 5th consecutive month. Total retail sales are up 0.9 percent year-on-year. The advance estimate is based on a subsample of the Census Bureau’s full retail and food services sample. The Atlanta Fed revised its Q2-2015 real GDP growth forecast down to 0.7% following the retail sales report.
THIS WEEK
Upcoming Economic Reports & Releases:
Major Indicators
- Housing Market Index (10am, Monday)
- Housing Starts (8:30am, Tuesday)
- Existing Home Sales (10am, Thursday)
- Consumer Price Index (8:30am, Friday)
Chart of the Week:
