Resilient Consumers Are Still Selective with their Spending
This past month, American consumers increased their spending at the fastest rate since January 2023.Consumer spending rose 0.8% in February, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday. Personal incomes rose at a monthly rate of .3%, which may have given consumers the...
Five Things to Watch For in March’s Retail Sales Report
The U.S. Census Bureau will release its monthly retail sales report on Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a 0.4 percent gain in retail sales for March. Thus far, retail sales have trended softer this year than in 2023, with an unexpected 1.1 percent drop...
5 things to watch for in tomorrow’s CPI report
Wall Street investors and stakeholders alike will be watching tomorrow's Consumer Price Index report which is forecasted to rise at 0.3% over last month. They are waiting to see if inflation is slowing, a sign that interest rate...
After huge gains in jobs in January and February, expectations for March are high
Economists are looking at tomorrow’s job report to see whether the robust gains the employment market has made so far this year continued in March, demonstrating the job market’s surprising resilience in the face of high interest rates. Most predict that it has,...
In the Hunt for Affordable Housing, Americans Are Heading South
Jay, a tech executive from Virginia Beach, had simple criteria for where he wanted to live: somewhere with a solid tech presence, decent weather and spacious, reasonably-priced housing. He was stunned by the high cost of homes in places like Seattle and San Francisco....
Home Prices Climb To 6%
While housing markets saw price increases, some areas saw a decrease in prices from the month before, signaling sellers may be lowering asking prices on properties that won’t sell despite low inventory. Home prices continued to climb in the first month of 2024...
Veterans Not Priced Out Of Expensive Markets Due To New Loan Rules
San Diego, home to 300,000 active or retired military, and a close to $1 million median area home price, has seen veterans emerge as highly competitive buyers thanks to changes in the VA loan program. Vanya Cook-Letoud, 38, is in rare company: a homeowner twice over...
Durable Goods rebound moderately in February, but it’s too soon to know whether the manufacturing sector is in recovery
New orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods grew slightly more than expected in February, though the modest gains are not a clear signal that the manufacturing sector is recovering from a recession. Overall, durable goods orders increased 1.4 percent, or $3.7...
Rising Inflation Makes Fed Interest Cuts Unlikely in the Near Term
Consumer prices rose slightly faster in February, a signal for the Fed to hold cutting interest rates. Prices rose 0.4% from a month earlier in January and increased 3.2% from a year ago, according to the Labor Department. That rise in prices was slightly higher than...