Wells Fargo Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary – June 12, 2015 Consumers Emerge From Hiding The slump in consumer spending that characterized the first part of the year looks to be over. Retail sales rose 1.2 percent in May while spending in March and April was revised higher. Job openings in April rose to the […]
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 ReadingLOGIN CREATE AN ACCOUNT June 2015 California Exports Rebound California exports rebounded in the latest numbers, edging up a nominal 2.1% over the same time last year. In contrast, total U.S. exports of goods declined by 4.2% and exports from Texas shrank a full 9%… Read Full Analysis Now SHARE: Meet Our Experts Christopher Thornberg Christopher […]
Continue ReadingWells Fargo Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary for June 5, 2015: Payrolls Suggest Weakness Should Be Temporary · Payrolls jumped by 280,000 in May, with stronger average hourly earnings, keeping a September rate hike on the table. · Income gains remained strong in April, but consumer spending was merely flat over the month, pushing core inflation […]
Continue ReadingBank of the West US Outlook Report: Fixed Income Markets On the Move We are seeing a dramatic sell-off in global fixed income markets that it appears is driven by vigorous selling of Eurozone sovereign bonds, but is also spilling over into the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. Indeed in the last week alone, […]
Continue ReadingScott Anderson, Chief Economist at Bank of the West, offers some quick thoughts on the U.S. Payroll Report: Job growth roared back to life in May. +280K net non-farm jobs were created, outdistancing all expectations, and bringing the average monthly job growth over the last 3 months to +207K. Private service providing industries drove the job […]
Continue ReadingWells Fargo Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary – May 29, 2015 Terra Firma This week’s revision to first quarter GDP figures showed that the weakness in the first three months of the year was worse than initially reported as real GDP declined at a 0.7 percent annualized rate. Economic indicators for the second quarter were […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: An Encouraging Upward Revision We got a number of somewhat better U.S. economic reports this week, mostly from the housing market, but the upward revisions in the April durable goods report were the most encouraging development for U.S. economic growth prospects over the near-term. Prior to the April release, the durable goods […]
Continue ReadingWells Fargo Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary – May 22, 2015 Modest Bounce Back for Q2 Industrial production weakened for a fifth straight month. Utilities and mining were predictably weak amid weather changes and a pullback in the energy industry, while manufacturing was flat. The Regional PMIs do not suggest much of a rebound in […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: U.S. Economy Muddling Along Do you ever get the feeling you are just going through the motions, muddling through, but your heart just isn’t in it. Well that’s how the U.S. economy’s performance has felt over the last six months. Just as the Fed was about to sound the all clear and […]
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