Marketwatch 666

Widely watched economic reports released last week included the March advance report on durable goods and the March report on new home sales , both from the Census bureau, and the Existing Home Sales Report for March from the National Association of Realtors (NAR)….also released last week was the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) for March , a weighted composite index of 85 different economic metrics, which decreased to –0.03 in March from +0.24 in February, after February’s index was revised up from the +0.15 reported in last month’s report…as a result, the more often cited 3 month average of that index decreased to –0.01 in March from +0.12 in February, which would indicate that national economic activity has been close to the historical trend over recent months, which is what would indicated by a reading of zero… This week also saw the release of two more regional Fed manufacturing surveys for April: the Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey for April , covering western...

Major monthly reports released this past week included the Retail Sales report for March and the associated Business Sales and Inventories report for February , both from the Census Bureau, the March report on Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization from the Fed, and the March report on New Residential Construction from the Census Bureau….In addition, the week also saw the release of the Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report for March from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a report which breaks down the two employment surveys from the monthly national jobs report by state and region …while the text of that report provides a useful summary of the state and regional data, the serious statistical aggregation can be found in the tables linked at the end of the report , where one can find the civilian labor force data and the change in payrolls by industry for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.. This week also saw...

Major monthly reports released this past week included the March Consumer Price Index and the March Producer Price Index , both from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the February report on Wholesale Trade, Sales and Inventories from the Census Bureau….in addition, the Fed released the Consumer Credit Report for February , which indicated that overall consumer credit, a measure of non-real estate debt, fell by a seasonally adjusted $0.8 billion, or at a 0.2% annual rate, as revolving credit grew at a 0.1% annual rate to $1,323.6 billion, while non-revolving credit outstanding shrunk at a 0.3% rate to $3,673.4 billion… Consumer Prices Fell 0.1% in March on Lower Prices for Gasoline, Airfare, Drugs, and Used Vehicles The consumer price index ended 0.1% lower in March, as lower prices for gasoline, airline fares, lodging away from home, prescription drugs, used vehicles, recreational goods, and smartphones were only partly offset by higher prices for groceries, utilities, clothing...

Major monthly economic reports released during the past 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 February report on Construction Spending and the Full Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders for February , 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 -16.3 in March, its lowest reading since last July, down from last month’s –8.3, thus indicating a more widespread deterioration of the Texas area economy than in February… Privately issued reports released this week included the ADP Employment Report...