Category: Announcements

• October 11, 2017
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• realestatelife

August JOLTS 6.082M vs. estimates of 6.125M. This report continues to show a very large amount of unfilled jobs, mostly due to a mismatch of skills of workers looking for work vs skills needed for the open position and signifies room to run for wages as competition heats up for the skilled.

• October 11, 2017
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• realestatelife

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Wednesday said a December interest rate hike was not a done deal, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. In a talk in Zurich, Evans said he saw scope for an “honest discussion” about whether it is the right time to raise interest rates. Evans said the

• October 6, 2017
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• realestatelife

The U.S. workforce shrank by 33,000 jobs in September as employment was undercut by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. It was the first contraction in seven years. Economists polled had predicted a 75,000 increase in nonfarm jobs, but estimates were all over the map because of uncertainty about the effects of the storms. The unemployment rate,

• October 5, 2017
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• realestatelife

The U.S. trade deficit dropped 2.7% in August to $42.4 billion from $43.6 billion in July. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a $42.6 billion gap. Imports slipped 0.1% to $237.7 billion. Exports rose 0.4% to $195.3 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

• October 4, 2017
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• realestatelife

The Institute for Supply Management’s index of service-oriented companies such as banks and retailers jumped to a 12-year high of 59.8% in September from 55.3%. The last time the index was higher was in August 2005.

• October 4, 2017
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• realestatelife

September ISM Non-Manufacturing (Services) hit 59.8 vs. estimates of 55.5 This is a strong reading considering anything above 50 is expansionary and the Services sector accounts for more than 2/3 of our economic output.  This is very negative for bonds and interest rate pricing.

• October 4, 2017
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• realestatelife

Private-sector employment slowed in September as firms added 135,000 jobs ADP reported Wednesday. The gain was close to estimates which had forecast a September gain of 140,000 jobs, compared with an original reported increase of 237,000 for August. On Wednesday, ADP revised August’s gain to 228,000.

• October 2, 2017
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• realestatelife

Spending increased 0.5% during the month, and stood 2.5% higher than a year ago. Outlays were at a seasonally adjusted annual $1.22 trillion rate in August, while July’s initial tally was revised up to $1.212 trillion. The median forecast among economists surveyed by was for a 0.4% increase.

• September 29, 2017
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• realestatelife

Consumer spending rose 0.1% in August. If adjusted for inflation, however, spending fell for the first time since January. Personal income climbed 0.2%, above the 0.1% forecast. The savings rate was flat at 3.6%. The PCE index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, increased 0.1% in August. The closely followed “core” rate that strips out

• September 28, 2017
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• realestatelife

Initial U.S. jobless claims, a tool to measure layoffs, rose by 12,000 to 272,000 in the seven days stretching from Sept. 17 to Sept. 23.