Eight times each year the Fed publishes what’s known as the Beige Book — a qualitative take from each of the 12 federal bank districts. The assessments cover everything from auto loans to commercial real estate, and critically, a broad assessment of the state of...
The old adage goes, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” However, for consumer spending, it looks like March came in like a lion and stayed there. Both the U.S. Department of Commerce and PYMNTS intelligence data showed consumers spending more despite...
Retail sales climbed higher than anticipated in March, fueled in part by a jump in eCommerce. Data released Monday (April 15) by the U.S. Department of Commerce showed retail sales rising 0.7% month over month, and 4% since last year. The 0.7% figure exceeded the 0.3%...
The wealth effect giveth, and it taketh away. This week’s stock market volatility, and especially Friday (April 12)’s plummet in the wake of big bank earnings, shines a light on the value of stock market holdings. Specifically, it highlights who holds those holdings, and what...
U.S. wholesale inventories rose 0.5% in February compared with January. When compared with February 2023, these total inventories declined 1.5%, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a Wednesday (April 10) press release. The monthly rise in wholesale inventories was expected by economists polled by Reuters, the media outlet reported Wednesday....
We’re all booking trips. But what we’re able to spend once we get away from it all … well, that remains to be seen. Delta Air Lines reported earnings on Wednesday (April 10), and CEO Ed Bastian said there has been “real strong demand” to...
Takeaways from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s March Survey of Consumer Expectations include emerging concerns about debt. Consumers haven’t budged in their expectations about inflation — at least in terms of the one-year outlook. But they’re incrementally more worried about job security — and...
The technology, government and financial sectors made the greatest number of job cuts during the first quarter. Across all industries, U.S. employers announced 257,254 job cuts during the quarter, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in a Thursday (April 4) press release. That total was up...
How far will $100 go at the supermarket? Not as far as in 2019. While food inflation has slowed in recent months, costs continue to climb at the grocery store, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday (April 4). It analyzed NielsenIQ data on various commonly purchased goods that...
