Bank of the West U.S. Outlook Report: It’s All About the Jobs The July jobs report came in about as we and the consensus expected. There is nothing in the report that should dissuade the FOMC from their initial rate increase in September. The net 215K nonfarm jobs created in July brings the year-to-date job […]
Continue ReadingBank of the West US Outlook Report: Dissecting FOMC Intentions Don’t waste a lot of time dissecting the July FOMC statement. The Federal Reserve remained coy in their July statement released on Wednesday about when they plan to initiate their first Fed funds interest rate hike. The lack of clear hints in the July FOMC statement […]
Continue ReadingInstant Analysis of Today’s Employment Report for July 2015 by Bank of the West The July FOMC statement didn’t give economists and markets much more to go on about the expected timing of the first rate hike from the Fed. There were no clear-hints of a September rate hike buried in the statement. In short, […]
Continue ReadingBank of the West US Outlook Report: No Worries Mate- Rebound Continues You might actually get a restful August vacation in this year. With Greece well on its way towards another bailout package, and China managing to calm its stock market plunge, there appears a window of opportunity for U.S. domestic demand to blossom uninterrupted by […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: Remain Calm and Carry On What did our parents say again? Don’t sweat the small stuff? June U.S. economic data have come in a bit on the downbeat side with some high profile misses for retail sales and nonfarm payrolls at the same time that financial markets have been rattled by events […]
Continue ReadingU.S. Outlook: Financial volatility takes center stage The economic and financial drama unfolding in Greece and China is dominating the headlines and has relegated the discussion of Fed liftoff to the back pages of the newspaper. While we don’t dismiss the downside economic risks to China and the Eurozone economies from what has occurred, especially […]
Continue ReadingInstant Analysis of Today’s Employment Report for June from Bank of the West Job Growth Slows in June; +223K vs. Consensus Exp. +233K Unemployment Rate Drops one tenth to 5.3% April and May Job Numbers Revised Down a Net -60K Avg. Hourly Earnings Flat 0.0% (+2.0% y-o-y) Labor Force Participation Drops Job Growth in Goods […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: Purchasing Manager Indexes Soften in June Readings on business surveys from regional PMIs have been mixed in June, and the preliminary national level Markit PMIs for manufacturing and service businesses softened noticeably, implying a slowing in business activity as the second quarter draws to a close. The biggest surprise was the slip […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: More Signs of a Stronger Second Half Markets this week cheered the Fed’s somewhat dovish “dot-plot” of interest rate projections and Janet Yellen’s soothing tone at her press conference, but U.S. economic data continue to improve through June, and the near-term economic outlook appears to be shaping up pretty close to our […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: Retail Sales Shift into Higher Gear The U.S. consumer is coming through in a big way, and not a moment too soon. The retail sales report for May revealed a resilient consumer that will help lift growth in the second quarter and beyond. The retail sales data, much like the numbers on […]
Continue Reading