News & Commentary Weekly Highlights:

• Wall Street Journal: How to Revive the Private Mortgage Market (Wednesday)
• e21: Taxes Cost More Than What We Pay (Tuesday)
• Wall Street Journal: Supply or Demand? The IMF Breaks Down the Collapse of Oil Prices (Tuesday)
• Washington Times: Kill the Death Tax (Tuesday)
• Wall Street Journal: The Fiscal Challenge of an Aging Population (Sunday)

 

Top Economic Indicator Highlights:

Consumer Price Index (CPI, March)

• CPI: 0.2%, 12-mo avg.: 0.0%, Year/Year Change: 0.0%
• CPI less food & energy: 0.2%, 12-mo avg.: 0.2%, Year/Year change: 1.8%
• Noteworthy: The overall trend remains tepid, but higher energy prices advanced the CPI gain. Gasoline prices increased 3.9% after a 2.4% increase in February, following an 18.7% plunge in January. Food prices fell 0.2% over the month.
• Series Detail: The CPI is a collection of indexes that measures the average change in consumer prices over time for a fixed basket of goods and services from the perspective of the purchaser, whereas the producer price index for final demand (PPI-FD) measures price changes from the producer’s perspective.

 

THIS WEEK

Upcoming Economic Reports & Releases:

Major Indicators

• Existing Home Sales (10am, Wednesday)
• New Home Sales (10am, Thursday)
• Durable Goods Orders (advanced estimate, 8:30am, Friday)

 

Chart of the Week: