US Data Response Durable Goods (Jul. 2016) Although the strong rise in durable goods orders in July was partly due to a massive rebound in the ever-volatile commercial aircraft category, the details of the report provide tentative evidence... 25th August 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report (24th Aug. 16) US crude oil and gasoline inventories rose last week, despite demand remaining relatively strong and production falling. 24th August 2016 · 1 min read
US Chart Pack Real consumption growth will inevitably slow The stagnation in retail sales in July was not entirely surprising. Following the 4.2% annualised surge in real consumption in the second quarter, it was inevitable that spending growth would ease to... 23rd August 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Jul. 2016) Against expectations, new home sales surged in July to reach their highest level in over eight years. But that has caused market conditions to tighten even further. And, with housing starts stalling... 23rd August 2016 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jul.) With the growth rate of our M3 broad money aggregate at a solid 4.4% y/y in July and bank loan growth at an even stronger 7.7% y/y, the economy appears to be in good health. 19th August 2016 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Should we be worried by household debt? The latest data show that household debt is now close to its 2008 peak in dollar terms. However, the gains in income over the past eight years and the decline in interest rates mean that households... 19th August 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Have home sales peaked? The surge in the annual rate of house price inflation to a six-year high of 10.9% y/y in July, from 10.0%, reflected a spreading out of the housing mania beyond just Toronto and Vancouver. The recent... 19th August 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Consumer Prices (Jul.) & Retail Sales (Jun.) A drop back in gasoline prices was enough to push the annual CPI inflation rate back down to 1.3% in July, from 1.5%. The core inflation rate was unchanged at 2.1% last month, however, as the Canadian... 19th August 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Update US gas prices deflate on milder weather outlook US natural gas prices have fallen back in recent weeks, largely as a result of forecasts of milder weather. While we think that production should hold up in the second half of 2016, we are still... 19th August 2016 · 1 min read
US Economic Outlook Growth should pick up as headwinds fade After a muted performance over the past 12 months, we expect GDP growth to accelerate in the second half of this year, albeit mainly because the drags from falling investment and inventories will fade... 17th August 2016 · 1 min read
US Data Response Consumer Prices & Industrial Production (Jul. 16) Headline CPI inflation remained unusually low in July and the latest drop in energy prices will keep it below 2% for longer than we first thought. Core consumer prices rose by 0.1% m/m, which was... 16th August 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Jul. 16) Housing starts managed to rise modestly for the second month in a row in July, but their overall performance remains lacklustre. But with so few existing homes for sale and the labour market creating... 16th August 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Manufacturing Sales (Jun.) At first glance, the 0.5% m/m rebound in manufacturing sales volumes looks encouraging, but downward revisions to sales in the first two months of the quarter mean that the decline in second-quarter... 16th August 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Is another rate cut coming sooner than we thought? Right now it is hard to find anything positive to say about Canada’s economy. Around the start of this year things seemed to be going in the right direction; with non-energy exports on a tear and the... 12th August 2016 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Businesses continue to favour hiring over capex The latest data suggest that while firms are reluctant to increase capital expenditure, they are nonetheless continuing to expand their workforces. With the unemployment rate below 5%, however, the... 12th August 2016 · 1 min read
US Data Response UoM Consumer Confidence (Aug. 16) The small rise in the University of Michigan measure of consumer confidence in August suggests that the weaker-than-expected July retail sales figures were a blip rather than the start of a more... 12th August 2016 · 1 min read