Tag Archives: consumer spending

No Art of the Trade Deal

Financial FAQs “The point is that Trump doesn’t feel bound by trade deals America has made in the past. Why should anyone expect him to honor any new deals he makes, or claims to make, now? Huffington Post “Obviously this … Continue reading

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A Better Jobs Report?

Popular Economics Weekly “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 147,000 in June, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in state government and health care. Federal government … Continue reading

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Worried Consumers Shop Less

Popular Economics Weekly “Disposable personal income (DPI)—personal income less personal current taxes—decreased $125.0 billion (0.6 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $29.3 billion (0.1 percent).” BEA.GOV We are seeing one of the classic signs of a looming recession—consumers are … Continue reading

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First Quarter Growth Revised Lower

Financial FAQs “Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of -0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2025 (January, February, and March), according to the third estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth … Continue reading

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Interest Rates Coming Down?

The Mortgage Corner “Existing-home sales rose in May, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales elevated in the Northeast, Midwest and South, but retreated in the West. Year-over-year, sales progressed in the Northeast and Midwest but contracted in the … Continue reading

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U.S. Already in Recession?

Financial FAQs The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US ticked down by 0.1% in May 2025 to 99.0 (2016=100), after declining by 1.4% in April (revised downward from –1.0% originally reported). The LEI has fallen by 2.7% in … Continue reading

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Tariffs Trump Consumer Spending

Financial FAQs “Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $715.4 billion, down 0.9 percent (±0.5 percent) from the previous month, … Continue reading

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California Can’t Be Bullied

Popular Economics Weekly Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that California has officially overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, according to newly released data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). April, 2025 LATimes The Trump … Continue reading

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Immigrants Make a Difference

Popular Economics Weekly “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 139,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, … Continue reading

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What’s the Fed Saying?

The Mortgage Corner “In considering the outlook for monetary policy, participants agreed that with economic growth and the labor market still solid and current monetary policy moderately restrictive, the committee was well positioned to wait for more clarity on the … Continue reading

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