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March jobs report; February’s trade deficit, retail sales, and JOLTS; January’s business inventories, et al

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Major monthly economic reports released last week included the Employment Situation Summary for March and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for February, both from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Commerce Department’s report on our International Trade for February , and the Retail Sales report for February and the conjoined Business Sales and Inventories for January , both from the Census Bureau…this week also saw the last regional Fed manufacturing survey for March: the Dallas Fed Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey , covering Texas and adjacent counties in northwest Louisiana and southeast New Mexico, reported their general business activity composite index fell to –0.2 in March, down slightly from +0.2 in February, with the near-zero readings indicating almost no change in business activity in either month… Privately issued reports released last week included the ADP Employment Report for March , wherein the payroll processor estimated that US private payrolls...
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January’s construction spending, February’s CFNAI, et al

It appears that the January report on Construction Spending was the only widely watched economic report released last week, not surprising given the 13 monthly releases over the prior two weeks, and as we are still lagging a normal schedule on about half of the usual monthly releases in the wake of last October’s shutdown…this week also saw the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) for February , a weighted composite index of 85 different economic metrics, which fell to –0.11 in February from +0.20 in January..…even with that February decrease, the more widely watched 3 month average of the CFNAI increased to –0.01 in February from –0.02 in January, which, as a negative figure near zero, indicates that national economic activity has been near the historical trend over the winter months.. The week also saw the results of two more regional Fed manufacturing surveys for March… the Richmond Fed Survey of Manufacturing Activity , covering an area that includes Virginia, Maryland, the...
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February's producer prices & industrial production; January's factory inventories, wholesale trade, and new home sales

Major economic reports released last week included the Producer Price Index for February from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the February report on Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization from the Fed, and the January report on new home sales , the Full Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders for January , and the January report on Wholesale Trade, Sales and Inventories , all from the Census Bureau…. This week also saw the release of the first two regional Fed manufacturing surveys for March: the Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the New York Fed, which covers all of New York state, one NYC suburban county in Connecticut, Puerto Rico and northern New Jersey, reported their headline general business conditions index fell from +7.1 in February to –0.2 in March, with the near zero reading meaning that that region’s manufacturers were virtually evenly split between those who reported improving conditions and those who saw deteriorating conditions in March...
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4th quarter GDP revision; February's consumer prices and existing home sales; January’s income and outlays, trade deficit, job openings, durable goods, and new housing starts

The key economic reports released last week were the 2nd estimate of 4th quarter GDP and the January report on Personal Income and Spending , both from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Consumer Price Index Summary for February from the Bureau of Labor Statistics…other widely watched releases included the Commerce Dept’s report on our International Trade for January , the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report for January from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers’ Shipments Inventories and Orders for January and the January report on New Residential Construction , both from the Census Bureau, and the Existing Home Sales Report for February from the National Association of Realtors (NAR)… 4th Quarter GDP Grew at a 0.7% Rate, Revised from the 1.4% rate Shown in the Advance Estimate The Second Estimate of our 4th Quarter GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis indicated that our real output of goods and servic...
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