Marketwatch 666

Major reports released last week included the May Consumer Price Index and the May Producer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Commerce Dept’s report on our International Trade in Goods and Services for April , the Wholesale Trade, Sales and Inventories report for April from the Census Bureau, and the May report on existing home sales from the National Association of Realtors (NAR)… CPI Rose 0.5% in May on Higher Prices for Fuel and Shelter The consumer price index was 0.5% higher in May, as higher prices for fuel, rent, lodging away from home, electricity, clothing, airline fares, vehicle maintenance and repairs, internet and telephone service, postage and delivery services, hospital services, dentist’s services, appliances, tax preparation, and admissions to sporting events were only partly offset by lower prices for utility gas, new cars and trucks, car and truck rentals, vehicle insurance, tires, furniture, outdoor equipment, floor coverings, prescription and ...

The key economic reports released last week were the second estimate of 1st quarter GDP and the April report on Personal Income and Spending , both from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the April advance report on durable goods and the April report on new home sales , both from the Census bureau….This week also saw the release of the widely watched March Case-Shiller Home Price Index from S&P Case-Shiller , an index which is computed from the relative average of January, February & March home sales prices as compared to home sales prices of the same homes when they sold during previous 3 month periods; the Case Shiller index indicated that home prices nationally for those 3 months averaged 0.7% higher than prices for the same homes that sold during the same 3 month period a year earlier, down from the 0.8% year over year increase they reported for their February national index, covering home prices for December, January and February… In addition, the last two regional Fed...

Regular monthly reports that were released last week included the April Consumer Price Index , the April Producer Price Index and the April Import-Export Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Retail Sales report for April and the Manufacturing and Trade, Inventories and Sales report for March (pdf), both from the Census Bureau, the April report on Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization from the Fed, and the Existing Home Sales Report for April from the National Association of Realtors…. This week also saw the first regional Fed manufacturing survey for May: the Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the New York Fed , which covers all of New York state, a NYC suburban county in Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and Puerto Rico, reported their headline general business conditions index rose to +19.6 in May from +11.0 in April, its highest level in more than four years, which would indicate that a solid majority of Second District manufacturers now see improv...