News & Commentary Weekly Highlights:

• Wall Street Journal: Economists See Dollar Strength, Global Weakness Restraining U.S. Growth(Thursday)
• Politico: The Federal Debt Debate: Boomers vs. Millennials(Wednesday)
• Bloomberg Politics: Tax System Spurs Overseas Purchases of U.S. Firms, Report Says (Wednesday)
• The Heritage Foundation: Stagnant Wages: Fact of Fiction? (Wednesday)
• Wall Street Journal: Recession’s Impact Lingers for Many States(Monday)

 

Top Economic Indicator Highlights:

Producer Price Index for Final Demand (PPI-FD, February)

• PPI-FD: -0.5%, 12-mo avg.: -0.1%, Year/Year Change: -0.7%
• PPI-FD less food & energy: -0.7%, 12-mo avg.: 0.1%, Year/Year change: 1.0%
• Noteworthy: Expectations were for a 0.3% rebound this month, rather than a decrease. The energy component remained flat this month but producer prices for food fell 1.6 percent and trade services were down as well.
• Series Detail: The PPI-FD is a collection of indexes that measures the average change in producer prices over time for domestically produced goods, services, and construction, from the perspective of the seller, whereas the consumer price index (CPI) measures price changes from the purchaser’s perspective.

 

THIS WEEK

Upcoming Economic Reports & Releases:

Major Indicators

• Industrial Production(9:15am, Monday)
• Housing Market Index (10am, Monday)
• Housing Starts (8:30am, Tuesday)

Reports

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

 

Chart of the Week: