Business Trends

  by Raymond J. Keating- Durable goods orders took a dive in April, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Census. Durable goods orders dropped by 2.1 percent in April. In addition, March orders were revised down from an increase of 2.6 percent to 1.7 percent. The big negative in April was […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Figuring out what’s going on with the economy often is like piecing together a puzzle. When each piece is put in place, one hopefully gains an improved look at the overall picture. At the same time, though, the picture itself can be unclear. For good measure, since we are talking about […]

by Raymond J. Keating- There are a couple of problems with watching monthly inflation numbers, such as those included in the latest Consumer Price Index report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. First, you’re looking in the rearview mirror. Even the latest CPI inflation data is yesterday’s news. Small business owners, investors, borrowers, lenders, […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Given the way that jobs numbers are reported by the media and talked about by politicians early each month, it would be easy to think that the Bureau of Labor Statistics “Employment Situation” report is one unified report. But that is not the case. In reality, what the BLS offers each […]

by Raymond J. Keating- According to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, annualized nonfarm labor productivity jumped by 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2019. That was the best rate of growth since the third quarter of 2014. In fact, the first quarter 2019 report was solid across the board, […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Did the Fed’s take on the economy change via the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement released on May 1? Yes and no. First, the Fed upgraded its take on growth. In its March statement, the Fed said that “growth of economic activity has slowed from its solid rate in the […]

by Raymond J. Keating- According to the latest estimate from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index jumped up by 0.4 percent in March. That’s a marked step up in CPI inflation from the previous four months in which inflation largely was absent. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED The […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Traditional C corporations are often thought of as big businesses. In reality, the bulk of C corps are small enterprises. And the 2017 business tax reform and relief measure has made the C corp a more appealing organizational structure for more entrepreneurs. Consider that, according to the latest data from the […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing index pointed to growth continuing in the services sector, but at a slower pace in March. The index dropped by 3.6 percentage points, from 59.7 percent in February to 56.1 percent in March. Any measure above 50 percent means that the services sector is […]

by Raymond J. Keating– Some of the news on the economy has become more mixed of late, raising some questions as we look ahead. For example, the latest take on fourth quarter real GDP growth was downgraded to 2.2 percent. That was revised from an earlier 2.6 percent estimate, and marked a slowdown from solid […]