ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2017
Home price gains remained solid in August due in part to low mortgage rates and an improving economy. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index rose 5.9% year over year, in line with estimates. David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, s...
10/31/2017
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The Fed's favorite inflation gauge, the year-over-year Core PCE, remained at 1.3% in October, well below the 2% target that the Fed has been looking for. On a monthly basis, the Core PCE was unchanged at 0.1%. The Fed has said that it will most likely raise rates at the December FOMC meeting, des...
10/30/2017
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The S&P 500 Stock Index is in the midst of its longest streak ever without a 3% correction. In addition, the closely-watched index has closed at record highs 67 times this year, the most in over 20-years. Stocks have been steadily moving higher since the presidential election and have received a ...
10/26/2017
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Seasonal holiday hiring is hot this year due to the fact that the labor market is at its best levels in years. The Unemployment Rate has fallen to 4.2%, the lowest level in seven years. Some retailers are going as far as offering permanent positions to score workers for the holiday shopping seaso...
10/24/2017
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Americans filing for first time unemployment benefits declined in the latest week to levels not seen since March 1973 as the labor markets continue to gain strength. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell by 22,000 in the latest week to 222,000, below the 236,000 expected. The big drop could be attri...
10/19/2017
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Hurricanes Harvey and Irma put a dent in new home construction in Florida and southern Texas. The Commerce Department reported that total September Housing Starts fell 4.7% from August to an annual rate of 1.127 million units versus the 1.160 million expected. It was the lowest level since Septem...
10/18/2017
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Homebuilder sentiment pushed higher in October as builders rebounded from the initial shock of the hurricanes. The NAHB Housing Market Index rose 4 points in October to 68, above the 64 expected and up from 64 in September. The report showed that the component gauging current sales conditions ros...
10/17/2017
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Regional manufacturing data from New York State surged in October due in part to strong gains in employment, new orders and shipments. The Empire State Index jumped to 30.2 in October, well above the 20.0 expected and well above the 24.4 recorded in September, the highest in three years. Looking ...
10/16/2017
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In the first of two key employment reports this week, ADP Private Payrolls rose by 135,000 versus the 160,000 expected, impacted by recent hurricanes Irma and Harvey. August was revised lower to 228,000 from 235,000. The numbers had little impact on trading as the ADP data is often seen as second...
10/04/2017
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Manufacturing activity across the U.S. rose to its highest level in 13 years in September due in part to strong order growth and healthy production. The ISM Index surged to 60.8 last month, above the 57.8 expected which was boosted by factory bookings and production as the recovery begins followi...
10/02/2017