Business Trends

by Raymond J. Keating- Housing data tends to be volatile from month to month and frequently subject to substantial revisions. After big jumps in both housing starts and permits in August, the latest housing report from the U.S. Census Bureau showed declines in September. That being the case, it is worth noting that builder confidence […]

Compared to a year earlier, sales are up by 4.1% by Raymond J. Keating- The recent growth streak on monthly retail sales data came to an end in September. The September report on retail and food services sales from the U.S. Census Bureau showed a decline of 0.3 percent in total retail and food services […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Small Business Policy Index 2019: Washington ranked 10th best among the 50 states. SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2019” ranks the 50 states according to 62 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending and performance measurements. Small Business Tax Index 2019: Washington ranked 6th […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Despite assorted policymakers in Washington, D.C., serving up confused, contradictory and at times economically incoherent declarations on monetary policy and the dollar, good news persisted on inflation in the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Consumer Price Index. And it pays to keep in mind that, […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Small Business Policy Index 2019: Utah ranked 7th best among the 50 states. SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2019” ranks the 50 states according to 62 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending and performance measurements.  Small Business Tax Index 2019: Utah ranked 16th […]

by Raymond J. Keating- In the latest small business lending data from the FDIC’s latest quarterly banking profile, some troubling questions emerge. First, small commercial and industrial (C&I), and nonfarm nonresidential (properties) loan balances came in at $644.5 billion at the close of the second quarter 2019. That was up compared to $632.5 billion a […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The default in media and political circles when it comes to the monthly jobs report is to focus on the establishment survey payroll numbers and the household survey’s unemployment rate. Yes, if you were unaware, these two numbers come from two different surveys that are both included in the monthly employment […]

 by Raymond J. Keating- According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income grew by 0.4 percent in August. That marked a return to strong growth after July essentially being flat. The most important measure in this report is real per capita personal disposable income, that is, personal income less personal […]

by Raymond J. Keating- When I testified before in the U.S. Senate last year on legislative proposals to increase access to capital, one of the forms of investment that I highlighted was venture capital. As I noted at the time, “While not an option for most start-ups or very young firms, venture capital investment is […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The Census Bureau’s durable goods report for August pointed to overall growth inching ahead, while a key measure of business investment showed contraction. The topline number estimated that durable goods new orders grew by only 0.2 percent in August. This marked a slowdown from gains of 2.0 percent in July and […]