US Data Response PPI, Housing Starts (Feb.) & Current Account (Q4) The surge in PPI inflation won't sway the Fed. It has already said that it expects the commodity-related upturn will be "transitory". With core PPI inflation still low and the economic recovery... 16th March 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Retail Sales (Feb.) The 1.0% m/m increase in February's retail sales may only have been in line with the consensus forecast, but the composition of that growth and the sizeable upward revisions to the gains in the two... 11th March 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response International Trade (Jan.) The increase in the monthly trade deficit to a five-month high of $46.3bn in January, from 40.3bn, owed very little to the rising cost of imported oil. Instead, it was mainly due to the strength of... 10th March 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Mortgage Applic'ns (Feb.) & Negative Equity (Q4) Mortgage applications continued to trend lower in February, underlining the point we've made before that the latest rebound in home sales is being driven almost exclusively by cash buyers and... 9th March 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Feb.) The 192,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in February is healthy enough, particularly when we take into account the upward revisions to the preceding two months that added an additional 58,000 jobs... 4th March 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response ISM Manu. Index (Feb.) & Bernanke's Testimony Even though the ISM manufacturing index increased to a seven-year high in February, in his semi-annual testimony to the Senate Banking Committee Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered no hint that he... 1st March 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Durable Goods Orders (Jan.) The manufacturing recovery is still picking up momentum. The 2.7% m/m increase in durable goods orders in January is better than it looks when we take into account the big revision to December's... 24th February 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Consumer Prices (Jan.) Consumer prices increased by 0.4% m/m in January, as the surge in commodity prices continued to feed through. 17th February 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Industrial Production & Producer Prices (Jan.) The 0.3% m/m increase in manufacturing output in January is actually quite encouraging, given that the already reported drop in average hours worked by manufacturing employees last month suggests the... 16th February 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Housing Starts (Jan.) Despite the rebound in January, housing starts remain at an unusually low level. This is unlikely to change when there is little need for new homes or when falling prices and rising costs are denting... 16th February 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Retail Sales (Jan.) & Empire State Index (Feb.) The retail sector started the year on a soft note, suggesting that consumption growth is losing momentum. This is perhaps even more worrying at a time when spending should be receiving a boost from... 15th February 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response International Trade (Dec.) The prospect of a rebound in imports at the start of this year, most probably linked to the recent strength of consumption, suggests that the external sector is unlikely to provide as large a boost to... 11th February 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Jan.) The severe winter weather that occurred during the sample week appears to explain most of the weakness in January's non-farm payrolls, which increased by only 36,000, compared with a 121,000 gain the... 4th February 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response ISM Manufacturing Index (Jan.) Today's data releases illustrate the two-speed nature of this recovery, with the manufacturing sector leading the way and the construction sector lagging far behind. 1st February 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response GDP (Q4 1st Estimate) The acceleration in GDP growth to 3.2% annualised in the fourth quarter, from 2.6% in the third, confirms that the economic recovery regained some lost momentum over the closing stages of last year. 28th January 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response Durable Goods Orders (Dec.) December's durable goods figures are frankly very suspicious looking. According to the report, new orders for non-defence aircraft dropped from $5,019 million in November to an impossibly low $24... 27th January 2011 · 1 min read
