Category: Business & Markets

• March 31, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The rate of inflation in consumer goods and services topped 2% in February for the first time since 2012, a trend that could lead to higher borrowing costs for households and businesses unless it abates soon.

• April 20, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The manufacturing index from the Philadelphia Fed slid in April, but from high levels, suggesting slower growth in the factory sector after a post-election surge. The index fell to 22.0 from 32.8. It had hit a 33-year high of 43.3 in February and has receded every month since then. In a diffusion index, any reading

• April 24, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Weak growth in the U.S. economy in the first quarter will likely be temporary and interest-rate hikes should be able to proceed as planned, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Friday. “Our tendency is to think this [weakness in the first quarter] is a transitory change and that growth will be around forecasts in

• April 25, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Consumer confidence in the U.S. dipped slightly in April, but Americans are still far more optimistic than they were before the 2016 election, a survey shows. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slipped to 120.3 last month from a 16-year-high of 124.9 in March. Americans were a bit less rosy about the current

• March 31, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Consumer spending showed a scant 0.1% increase last month. Economists had forecast a 0.2% gain in spending. Americans spent more on services such as travel but less on new cars and utilities during the second warmest February in 123 years. The slowdown in spending for the second straight month took place despite another healthy 0.4%

• April 25, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Sales of newly-constructed homes throttled to the highest in nearly a year in March as the housing recovery picked up steam. New-home sales ran at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 621,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was 5.8% higher than a downwardly-adjusted February sales pace, and 15.6% higher than a year ago.

• April 25, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Treasury prices retreated Tuesday, continuing to send yields higher, as investors continued to pile back into stocks and other assets perceived as risky at the expense of traditional havens like government bonds. The yield on the 10-year note climbed 5.6 basis points to 2.3330%, briefly approaching the two-week high of 2.315% before heading lower. The

• March 31, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

An inflation index known as PCE rose 0.1% in February, bringing the increase over the past 12 months to 2.1%. It’s the first time the yearly rate of inflation topped 2% since March 2012. The PCE index is the preferred tool for the Federal Reserve to measure inflation. The rate of inflation is now above

• April 25, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

U.S. house prices continued to show no signs of slowing, hitting their highest in nearly three years as demand remains hot, especially in the Pacific Northwest and Dallas. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.9% in the three-month period ending in February compared to the same period a year ago, an acceleration from its 5.7% yearly

• April 26, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirms Trump administration aims to lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, saying a forthcoming proposal will constitute the ‘biggest tax cut’ for Americans in history.