Business Trends

by Raymond J. Keating – The residential housing industry continued its slide in January, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,309,000, which was down by 4.5 percent versus December, and 21.4 percent below the year earlier level. Meanwhile, housing permits, […]

by Raymond J. Keating – After a dismal close to 2022, retail and food services sales got off to a solid start in 2023, growing by 3.0 percent (on a seasonally adjusted basis) in January versus December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest report. Compared to a year earlier, sales were up by 6.4 […]

by Raymond J. Keating –  There’s no resting easy when it comes to inflation. We’re seeing that now, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation jumped up to 0.5 percent. That compared to 0.1 percent in December and 0.2 percent in November. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor […]

by Raymond J. Keating – According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, total new business applications grew by 0.9 percent in January versus the prior month, with high-propensity applications rising by 2.0 percent. Keep in mind, that these are business applications, not actual business formations. As the Census Bureau notes, “The Business […]

by Raymond J. Keating – The history of energy production is laden with predictions about resource decline and exhaustion, and each one has turned out to be dead wrong. There are a host of reasons for these wrongheaded predictions, but most tend to tie back to the failure to consider innovation. New and improved ways […]

by Raymond J. Keating – Labor productivity – or the amount of goods and services produced per hour of work – matters to both businesses and workers. Enhanced productivity boosts profits for businesses and income for workers, and is vital to fueling economic growth overall. So, while productivity is important, the U.S. Bureau of Labor […]

by Raymond J. Keating – The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced on February 1 that it was raising the federal funds rate by a quarter point to a range of 4.5 percent to 4.75 percent. And more rate hikes were promised. It also was noted in the FOMC statement that “Inflation has eased somewhat […]

by Raymond J. Keating – The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that personal income barely inched higher in December 2022, with personal consumption expenditures declining. Focusing in closer on the report and data, here are three key takeaways. First, inflation, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index which is a favorite of […]

by Raymond J. Keating – The first estimate of GDP (i.e., gross domestic product) in the fourth quarter of 2022 put real economic growth at a below-average 2.9 percent, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. For all of 2022, real GDP under-performed at 2.1 percent. Fourth Quarter 2022 Data […]

by Raymond J. Keating – The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that the recent dive in residential construction measures that started in May 2022 continued in December. Specifically, residential housing starts registered a seasonally adjusted annual 1,382,000 in December 2022, which was down by 1.6 percent compared to November, and had declined […]