Fact of the Week

by RAYMOND J. KEATING- The latest durable goods report from the U.S. Census Bureau served up a mixed story for manufacturing in April. The troubling aspect of this report is that durable goods new orders declined by 1.3 percent in April 2021. That was the first decline since April 2020, when we were in the […]

by RAYMOND J. KEATING- The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index basically held steady in May. The index now came in at 117.2 (1985=100) in May, which was down ever so slightly from April’s  117.5. The Conference Board’s measure is actually a composite of two indices. The Present Situation Index offers consumer views on the current […]

by RAYMOND J. KEATING- For decades, New York elected officials have imposed one of the most hostile tax climates in the nation. And now it’s just gotten much worse. Of course, these New York tax increases – falling significantly on entrepreneurs, businesses of varying types and sizes, and investors – mean fewer resources and incentives […]

by RAYMOND KEATING- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the latest estimate of jobs by state. And while all states have suffered during this pandemic economy, the damage has varied considerably by state. The BLS report on March 2021 nonfarm payroll employment noted that compared to February 2021, “Nonfarm payroll employment increased in […]

by RAYMOND J. KEATING- The strong housing market had taken a breather in February. In fact, both housing starts permits took a dive in February after months of strong growth. Given severe weather that struck major parts of the country, the question was: Did the February decline merely reflect a temporary, weather-related phenomenon, or was […]

by RAYMOND J. KEATING- After a weather-related decline in February, industrial production (the actual output of the manufacturing, mining and utility sectors of our economy) grew by 1.4 percent in March, as reported by the Federal Reserve. The February change registered -2.6 percent. Manufacturing, the largest chunk of industrial production, expanded by 2.7 percent in […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The latest consumer credit numbers point to growing confidence among consumers. While retails sales were down in February (in part due to weather issues), consumer credit actually spiked up – after being flat in January. Specifically, the Federal Reserve reported: “In February, consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate […]

  by Raymond J. Keating- The latest surveys on manufacturing point to solid growth having occurred in March, but with increasing challenges in terms of the supply chain. The IHS Markit U.S. Manufacturing PMI report noted that the March PMI hit the second-highest level on record (data going back to May 2007), thanks to strength […]

by Raymond J. Keating- There are signs of hope in various places – hope that this pandemic will soon be put to rest for the sake of lives, public health, and the economy. That hope is tied to the distribution of vaccines, which will then lead to a return to normalcy, including for the economy. […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The housing numbers served up by the U.S. Census Bureau were ugly for February. That’s troubling given that housing has been a major bright spot for the economy during this pandemic economy, as well as the fact that housing very much is about small business. The data pointed to housing starts […]