Tag Archives: Consumer spending

Retail trade sales rose 0.4 percent in December, the Department of Commerce reported Tuesday. The increase was twice the rate economists anticipated, and total retail activity - including restaurants - rose 0.5 percent, up from 0.4 percent growth seen in November. Sales at furniture stores - an indicator of housing activity - rose 1.4 percent after increasing 1 percent in November. The back-to-back gains followed three straight months of declines, and year-over-year sales at furniture stores were up. 5.8 percent.

The nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós unemployment rate remained at 7.8 percent in December as payrolls increased 155,000, slightly ahead of consensus forecasts, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 150,000, slightly higher than the 146,000 increase in payrolls originally reported for November, and that the unemployment rate would remain at November├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós 7.7 percent.

Even as the country barrels closer and closer to the fiscal cliff at the end of the year, Capital Economics is maintaining its projection for modest economic growth in 2013. In the firm's latest US Economics Update, economists Paul Ashworth and Paul Dale take a peek into what they believe is America's likely economic future: GDP growth of 2.0 percent in 2013 followed by 2.5 percent the following year. Of course, there are some major factors that could seriously stifle growth.

Consumer spending turned down in November after nearly a year of steady gains, according to Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index. The index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future spending, comprises four components: tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices. The index dipped from 4.14 in October to 3.89 in November, turning around several months of improvement. The index reflects data through October but does not yet show the complete impact of superstorm Sandy.

A preliminary report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan shows consumer confidence took a major hit to start December. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to 74.5, a substantial drop from November's promising 82.7. The median forecast from economists polled by Reuters was 82.4. Richard Curtin, chief economist for the survey, said the decline stems from worries over Washington's apparent lack of progress in fiscal cliff negotiations.

Superstorm Sandy blew a hole not in the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós labor market, but in economists├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó crystal balls as the economy added 146,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent--the lowest level since December 2008--the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Consumer spending fell $20.2 billion in October as personal income remained relatively flat, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Friday. The report was weaker than the 0.3 percent growth in income and 0.1 percent growth in spending economists had expected. While the report reflects a weak beginning to the fourth quarter, the disappointing growth largely comes from work interruptions brought by superstorm Sandy, which impacted 24 states, by BEA's estimation.

Real GDP growth for the third quarter was revised up significantly, reaching a 2.7 percent annualized growth, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Thursday. Economists had forecast a 2.8 percent growth rate from the first estimate of 2.0 percent reported last month. Residential fixed investment accounted for $12.2 billion in the third quarter, according to the revised report, virtually unchanged from the $12.3 billion in the advance report of the third-quarter GDP increase and up from the $7.2 contribution in the second quarter.

A new study from Fannie Mae suggests that many Americans fail to do their homework when considering mortgage options.

Despite another month of home price improvement, the housing sector stumbled in September as prices increased in 13 of the 20 cities covered in the monthly Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. The month-over-month September gain was weaker than in August, when prices rose in all cities surveyed.