Weekly Economic Update: June 11-15, 2012
Industrial production was down 0.1% in May. The CPI declined 0.3% in May as the core index rose 0.2%. The PPI fell 1.0% in May as the core index rose 0.2%. The U.S. Treasury reported a deficit of $124.6 billion in May. Retail sales were down 0.2% in May. The current account balance widened 15.7...
Weekly Economic Update: June 4-8, 2012
Productivity declined 0.9% in the 1st quarter of 2012. Consumer credit rose 0.3% to $2.55 trillion in April. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed 4.9% in April. The ISM services index edged up 0.2 points to 53.7 in May. Factory orders declined 0.6% in April. Initial jobless claims declined 12,000 to...
Health Insurance Mandates to Cover Dependent Children
Numerous press reports in recent weeks have focused on what actions Congress may take in the event that Obamacare is repealed, or struck down in its entirety by the Supreme Court. Many of these stories have focused on the law’s new mandate requiring insurers to cover policy holders’ children under a...
Weekly Economic Update: May 28 - June 1
The economy added 69,000 jobs in May as the unemployment rate rose to 8.2%. GDP growth for the 1st quarter was revised down to 1.9%. Both the Dow and Nasdaq continued their recent declines, down 6.2% and 7.2%, respectively, for the month of May. The ISM index fell 1.3 points to 53.5 in May. Auto...
Miserable Week for Economic Data and News
This morning’s grim Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics added a negative exclamation point to a week of miserable economic data that featured a downward revision to estimated GDP growth in the 1st-quarter, a jump in initial claims for unemployment insurance, and an increa...
Jobs, Growth, and Greece Weigh on Outlook
This morning’s grim Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics added a negative exclamation point to a week of miserable economic data that featured a downward revision to estimated GDP growth in the 1st-quarter, a jump in initial claims for unemployment insurance, and an increa...
Weekly Economic Update: May 21-25, 2012
Existing home sales were up 3.4% in April as new home sales rose 3.3%. Durable orders increased 0.2% in April. Initial jobless claims declined 2,000 to a level of 370,000 for the week ended 5/26.
Declining Dollar Adds to the Price of Gas as of May 11, 2012
States of Bankruptcy
As economic policies in the 50 states continue to diverge, so too do their economic destinies. Many states that model their policymaking on European-style social democracies – with high tax rates, heavy regulation, large bureaucracies, and generous welfare systems – are finding themselves in fiscal...
Weekly Economic Update: May 7-11, 2012
Consumer credit increased 0.85% to $2.542 trillion in March. The U.S. trade deficit widened 14.1% to $51.8 billion in March. The topline producer price index declined 0.2% in April while the core PPI increased 0.2%. The U.S. Treasury reported a surplus of $59.1 billion in April. Initial jobless ...
