Tag Archives: inflation

Housing Starts Surge With Builder Optimism

The Mortgage Corner A surge in multifamily production resulted in overall nationwide housing starts rising 11.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban … Continue reading

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Personal Incomes, Manufacturing Remain Strong

Popular Economics Weekly Personal income rose a solid but slightly lower-than-expected 0.3 percent in September, reports the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The wages & salaries component rose 0.3 percent, another sign of rising incomes. That’s why consumer … Continue reading

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Consumers Boost Q1 GDP Growth

Popular Economics Weekly Consumer spending, largely on services, helped hold up first-quarter real GDP which came in at just 0.5 percent rate, but is still up 2 percent YoY. Consumer spending (personal consumption expenditures) rose at a 1.9 percent rate, … Continue reading

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What Should Yellen’s Fed Do?

Popular Economics Weekly The big question hovering over the markets (both stocks and bonds), is whether the Federal Reserve will finally begin to raise short term interest rates at next week’s FOMC meeting. Markets are uncertain, and only a few … Continue reading

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Three % Plus YoY Economic Growth Is Here

Popular Economics Weekly We are finally back to 3 percent plus GDP growth on an annual basis. And it is largely fueled by consumer spending that has been increasing as more jobs are created. Retail and Food service sales ex-gasoline … Continue reading

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What Would Save the Euro?

Popular Economics Weekly Now that Greece has voted NO on the latest European Commission-European Central Bank-IMF proposal (the so-called troika), will Greece stay in the Eurozone? If so, Greece may save the euro. Why is this choice even necessary when … Continue reading

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New Home Sales Surging

The Mortgage Corner New U.S. homes sold at an annual rate of 539,000 in February to mark the best month of sales in seven years, the government reported Tuesday. The pace of sales for January was also revised up sharply … Continue reading

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Will 2015 Interest Rates Remain This Low?

The Mortgage Corner Record low interest rates are holding, in spite of the latest stock market selloffs, and may remain low throughout 2015. Why? Oil prices are still below $50/barrel, and overall prices are falling throughout the developed world. The … Continue reading

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Low Inflation Everywhere Is Shrinking Growth

Popular Economics Weekly Deflation is a rising risk for the U.S. economy based on import and export price data where contraction is at its most severe since the 2008-2009 recession, as well as for the rest of the world. U.S. … Continue reading

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Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators Near Highs

Financial FAQs The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.6 percent in November to 105.5 (2004 = 100), following a 0.6 percent increase in October, and a 0.8 percent increase in September. It is a further … Continue reading

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