Wells Fargo Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary – May 15, 2015 Retail Sales Disappoint Retail sales came in flat in April, which was weaker than the consensus estimate. With retail sales now registering a soft reading in four of the past five months, many are now expecting another lackluster quarter of economic activity in Q2, […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: Consumers Still Holding Back in April We can’t blame bad weather for another month of disappointing retail sales. The April retail sales numbers suggest weaker real consumer spending growth in Q2 than previously expected. A stronger consumer is needed to offset weak business investment and declining exports. At least through April it […]
Continue ReadingBelarusian News: Sidorsky: No barriers to free movement of goods in Eurasian Economic Union Moneycontrol.com: GST Bill: How will it change India?
Continue ReadingGrowing California cap-and-trade fund attracts surge of spending proposals — Floating proposals ahead of a pivotal period for budget negotiations, they say they want to fund port improvements, pay for heavy-duty trucks and ferries, nurture urban rivers, sponge up carbon in soil and provide discounted bus passes. Oakland port moves past labor slowdown, but […]
Continue ReadingWells Fargo Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary – May 8, 2015 A Softer Bounce Back in the Second Quarter Nonfarm payrolls rose 223,000 in April, with the unemployment rate falling to 5.4 percent. The continued moderation in the pace of job growth suggests that second quarter economic growth may not see the same sharp turn […]
Continue ReadingInstant Analysis of Today’s Employment Report for April Job Creation In-Line with Expectations in April; +223K vs. Consensus Exp. +228K Unemployment Rate Drops one tenth to 5.4% March Job Numbers Revised Down a Net -41K to just +85K Avg. Hourly Earnings up a Modest 0.1% (+2.2% y-o-y) Labor Force Participation Improves Job Growth in All […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: Uneven Growth with Whiffs of Higher Prices This week’s U.S. Trade report for March revealed an even more lopsided trade performance than was estimated in the Q1 Advance Real GDP report released last week. Continued weakness in U.S. exports and a surprisingly strong rebound in imports, as delays under the West Coast […]
Continue ReadingLOGIN CREATE AN ACCOUNT May 2015 California Exports Fall Less California exports are down in the latest numbers but by less than in the U.S. overall or in other large states such as Texas. Although trade represented the single largest drag on the U.S. economy in the first quarter of 2015, signs of improvement are […]
Continue ReadingSeeing Through the Winter Blues As anticipated, economic growth got off to a soft start in 2015. GDP in the first quarter increased at just a 0.2 percent annualized rate, with broad-based weakness. The manufacturing sector remains under pressure. At 51.5, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) national index showed activity expanded at only a […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: U.S. Growth Has Slowed; Transitory or Not? Well it’s official. The Q1 preliminary GDP report, released this week, showed the broad extent of the economic damage from a combination of a rising dollar, drop in oil prices, and another winter for the record books. The question now is how much of the […]
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