U.S. manufacturers still going strong in July, ISM finds

  • August 1, 2017
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ISM index falls slightly to 56.3% but remains near 3-year high. American manufacturers tapped on the brakes lightly in July but were still expanding near the fastest pace in three years, a good sign for the broader U.S. economy.

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Construction spending slips in June, led by a public spending swoon

  • August 1, 2017
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Overall spending was up nearly 5% for the first half of the year compared to a year ago. Outlays for construction projects dipped in June after a strong start to the year as spending on public works tumbled. Construction spending fell 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.21 trillion, but May’s rate, originally

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Americans spend more on health care, less on gas, PCE shows

  • August 1, 2017
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Americans increased spending in June by the smallest amount in five months, partly because it cost less to fill up at the gas pump. Consumer spending rose 0.1% in June, matching the smallest increase of 2017. Income growth and inflation, meanwhile, were unchanged. Despite a stable economy and the best labor market in years, Americans remain cautious

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Economy in Chicago region cools in July but still running hot, PMI shows

  • July 31, 2017
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The economy in the Chicago region grew rapidly in July but cooled a bit from earlier in the summer, indicating that businesses are still confident despite political drama in Washington. The Chicago business barometer, or Chicago PMI, slipped to 58.9 in July from a three-year high of 65.7 in June, MNI Indicators said Monday. The

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Housing can’t be an economic growth engine if supply and demand are so out of whack

  • July 31, 2017
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Home-purchase contract signings jumped in June after three months of declines, another reflection of choppy momentum in the housing market. The pending home sales index from the National Association of Realtors rose 1.5% to a level of 110.2, the group said Monday. May’s reading was revised upward.

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Fed’s Fischer says fiscal, regulatory measures best cure for global low interest rates

  • July 31, 2017
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Monetary policy must take a back seat to fiscal and regulatory measures in the struggle to get the global economy out of its low-interest-rate doldrums, said Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, on Monday. Interest rates are not only near historic lows in the U.S., but also in the euro area, the U.K. and Japan,

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Fed says it will start reducing the balance sheet ‘relatively soon’

  • July 26, 2017
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The Federal Reserve took a step toward reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet, as the Federal Open Market Committee statement said its previously announced drawdown program would begin “relatively soon” instead of simply “this year.” In a unanimous decision, the Fed as expected held its targeted federal funds rate range between 1% and 1.25%. The

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New-home sales tread water, miss Wall Street estimates

  • July 26, 2017
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Sales of newly-constructed homes remained steady in June even as the market remains starved for inventory. New-home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was 0.8% above May’s 605,000 rate, after a slight downward revision. June’s tally was 9.1% higher than a year ago.

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Major metro area home prices up 5.7% year-over-year

  • July 25, 2017
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The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index maintained a 5.6 percent annual gain in May, even as a key composite declined. The index which covers home prices in 20 cities across the U.S. was up 5.7 percent in May, a decline from April and 0.1 percent below expectation.

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Treasury yields extend rise ahead of Fed meeting

  • July 25, 2017
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Treasury yields across the curve continued to rise on Tuesday following two straight weeks of declines as traders sold government paper ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday, which could set the market up for the looming normalization of the central bank’s balance sheet. The 10-year benchmark yield added 3.6 basis points to

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