Category: Economics
Update Economic American Company International Sales Activity
International sales activity has been a major economic and political topic since the beginning of this country’s discovery when explorers risked life-and-limb to sail across a vast body of water that might have been a one-way trip. Today, the center of global commerce is still focused on the “New World”, but is more directed toward how much of a company’s sales activity is attributed to international markets. The answer to that important question is almost 50%.
Update Economic USA Housing
Building permits continued to climb moving up by 7.4% in the month of June representing a 5.1% increase over last year. The number of permits reached 1.254 million. Housing starts also continued to climb by 8.3% in the month of June improving 2.1% over last year. The final step in a permit and start is a completed home which reached 1.203 million. This is an increase of 5.2% in the month of June and a 8.1% increase over the previous year.
Update Economic USA Employment
Job creation is an important factor in determining growth in the economy and current employment gains and unemployment rates are well within our forecast. The most recent ADP report shows a nice gain of 158,000. This number reflects the companies serviced by ADP. A broader measure is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and that number is also favorable showing a gain of 222,000. Levels above a 200,000 gain on the BLS number are considered expansionary.
Update Economic USA Personal Income
Personal income increased $67.1 billion which was better than the previous month increase of $58.4 billion. Disposable personal income increased by $71.7 billion which was also better than the previous month of a $56.5 billion increase. The Personal Consumption Expenditure measure also increased by $7.3 billion which is the favorite measure of the current Federal Reserve. The personal savings rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 5.5% up from 5.3%. Personal income data was encouraging and not necessarily inflationary.
Update Economic USA GDP
GDP or Gross Domestic Product is near the lower end of our forecast at 1.4%. As a comparison, we were at 2.1% GDP at the end of 2017. The economy has cooled slightly in the first quarter from a year ago, but confidence is high.