Business Trends

  by Raymond J. Keating- At first glance, the topline growth number of 0.2 percent on retail sales for November would seem a bit underwhelming. But digging just below the surface, one discovers a better story. When you factor out volatile gas station sales, retail sales in November grew by 0.5 percent. That points to […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The latest news on Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was good. After a blip up (+0.3 percent) in October, the CPI remained unchanged in November. And over the past year, CPI inflation ran at only 2.2 percent. Sometimes people forget that low inflation is […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wasn’t poor, nor was it robust regarding overall employment growth. It was a respectable month. However, concerns continued regarding self-employment as a measure of entrepreneurship. The establishment survey pointed to a gain of 155,000 in payrolls. That was down notably […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Small Business Policy Index 2018: Arizona ranked sixth best among the 50 states. SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2018” ranks the 50 states according to 55 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending and performance measurements. Small Business Tax Index 2017: Nevada ranked 11th […]

Small Business Insider by Raymond J. Keating The latest report on personal income from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis was rich in good news. Personal income grew by 0.5 percent in October, and disposable personal income (i.e., personal income less current taxes) increased by 0.3 percent. It was noted that a good chunk of […]

by Raymond J. Keating- In the second estimate of third quarter GDP, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis points to real business investment growth not being as lackluster as initially calculated. The topline real GDP growth number for the third quarter was unchanged at 3.5 percent. But looking at the underlying data, we see mainly […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Over two days, November 19 and 20, three key pieces of data on housing were published, and when taken together, they signal that housing warrants continued watching. First came the National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index. This measure of builder confidence took a dive in November – from an […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Industrial production in October edged ahead by 0.1 percent compared to September, according to the latest report from the Federal Reserve. Compared to a year earlier, industrial output was up by a solid 4.1 percent. The lone growth area among major industry groups in October was manufacturing production, which was up […]

“Policies matter” by Raymond J. Keating- On November 14, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis served up its latest estimate on real economic growth in the states. U.S. real GDP grew at a strong 4.2 percent in the second quarter of 2018, and looking at the data from the 50 states, the news was good […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The latest state employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pointed to nonfarm employment in October being up in 9 states, and effectively unchanged in 41 states. However, over the past year, 36 states added jobs, with 14 basically unchanged. So, which states were the top gainers? During October […]