An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.
-Ben Franklin
-Ben Franklin
Scroll Through for a 1 Minute Current Economic Review - Update and Educate
Gross Domestic Product - Annual Growth Rate
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period. As a broad measure of overall domestic production, it functions as a comprehensive scorecard of the country’s economic health.
Gross Domestic Product
Housing Madness
Case-Shiller Home Price Index
- The national home price index, which covers nine major census divisions. It is calculated quarterly and published on the last Tuesday of February, May, August and November.
- The 10-city composite index, which covers Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, DC.
- The 20-city composite index, which includes all of the above cities plus Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), Seattle and Tampa.
- Twenty individual metro area indexes for each of the cities listed above.
United States Existing Home Sales Prices
United States MBA Mortgage Applications
Mortgage applications for new homes and applications to refinance a home loan. Week over week.
New Home Sales
New Home Sales, also known as New Residential Sales, is an economic indicator that measures sales of newly built homes. It is published each month by the United States Census Bureau. Investors carefully monitor New Home Sales because it is viewed as a lagging indicator of real estate market demand and a factor affecting mortgage rates. It is driven by factors such as household income, unemployment, and interest rates.
US Existing Home Sales
Existing Home Sales measures the change in the annualized number of existing residential buildings that were sold during the previous month. This report helps to gauge the strength of the U.S. housing market and is a key indicator of overall economic strength. A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.
Building Permits
The monthly building permit report is closely watched by economists and investors alike. Since all related factors associated with the construction of a building are important economic activities (for example, financing and employment), the building permit report can give a major hint as to the state of the economy in the near future. The type of build permits issued can be indicators of growth or stagnation in particular segments of the economy. For example, an upsurge of commercial building permits often indicates businesses are expanding, or new companies are being established. If there is a rise in building permits for more warehouses, it can be a sign that commerce will increase in the coming years.
Housing Starts
Housing starts measures the change in the annualized number of new residential buildings that began construction during the reported month. It is a leading indicator of strength in the housing sector. A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.
Construction Spending
United States Home Ownership Rate
NAHBHMI
The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index (HMI) is based on a monthly survey of NAHB members designed to take the pulse of the single-family housing market. The survey asks respondents to rate market conditions for the sale of new homes at the present time and in the next six months as well as the traffic of prospective buyers of new homes.
United States Pending Home Sales
Pending home sales in the US measured as a percentage year over year. Influenced by:
- mortgage rates
- amount of listings
- prices
- inventory levels (supply/demand)
- wealth effect of homes and stock market
United States House Price Index MoM Change
The average prices of single-family houses with mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the United States measured month to month. Drivers:
- demand
- interest rates
- inventory
30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States
Core Inflation
Core inflation is the change in the costs of goods and services but does not include those from the food and energy sectors. This measure of inflation excludes these items because their prices are much more volatile. It is most often calculated using the consumer price index (CPI), which is a measure of prices for goods and services.
Inflation - Consumer Price Index
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, such as transportation, food, and medical care. It is calculated by taking price changes for each item in the predetermined basket of goods and averaging them. Changes in the CPI are used to assess price changes associated with the cost of living; the CPI is one of the most frequently used statistics for identifying periods of inflation or deflation.
United States 10 Year Bond Yield (percent)
Economic Confidence Index
The Consumer Confidence Index is a survey, administered by The Conference Board, that measures how optimistic or pessimistic consumers are regarding their expected financial situation.
Productivity Index
Labor Force Participation Rate
The labor force participation rate is a measure of an economy's active workforce. The formula for the number is the sum of all workers who are employed or actively seeking employment divided by the total working-age population.
Jobless Claims
Jobless claims are a statistic reported weekly by the U.S. Department of Labor that counts people filing to receive unemployment insurance benefits. There are two categories of jobless claims—initial, which comprises people filing for the first time, and continuing, which consists of unemployed people who have been receiving unemployment benefits for a while. Jobless claims are an important leading indicator on the state of the employment situation and the health of the economy.
Unemployment Rate
The unemployment rate is the share of the labor force that is jobless, expressed as a percentage. It is a lagging indicator, meaning that it generally rises or falls in the wake of changing economic conditions, rather than anticipating them. When the economy is in poor shape and jobs are scarce, the unemployment rate can be expected to rise. When the economy is growing at a healthy rate and jobs are relatively plentiful, it can be expected to fall.
In the U.S., the U-3 rate, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases as part of its monthly employment situation report, is the most commonly cited national rate. It is not the only metric available, however, and it receives criticism for giving the impression that the labor market is healthier than alternative measures would indicate. For this reason, some observers prefer to track the more comprehensive U-6 rate (see below).
In the U.S., the U-3 rate, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases as part of its monthly employment situation report, is the most commonly cited national rate. It is not the only metric available, however, and it receives criticism for giving the impression that the labor market is healthier than alternative measures would indicate. For this reason, some observers prefer to track the more comprehensive U-6 rate (see below).
Important: The unemployment rate does not consider discouraged workers, defined as those unemployed workers who would like to work but have given up looking for work altogether, usually because they believe that there are no jobs available.
Challenger Job Cuts
A monthly economic report which collects mass layoff data from state labor departments. The report does not distinguish between job loss through attrition or short-term layoffs or long-term job cuts.
ADP Employment Change
The ADP National Employment Report is a monthly economic data release tracking levels of nonfarm private employment in the U.S. It is also referred to as the ADP Jobs or ADP Employment Report.
Average Hourly Wages
United States Nonfarm Payrolls - Private
Collectively, non-farm payrolls are a summation of payroll jobs available within the non-farm payrolls classification as designated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly non-farm payrolls statistic is a measure of new payrolls added by private and government entities in the U.S. The monthly statistic is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and reported to the public on a monthly basis through the closely followed “Employment Situation” report. Like its name, non-farm payrolls exclude the hiring of farm workers within the agricultural industry. In addition to farm workers, non-farm payrolls data also excludes some government workers, private households, proprietors, and non-profit employees.
Interest Rate
The federal funds rate refers to the interest rate that banks charge other banks for lending them money from their reserve balances on an overnight basis. By law, banks must maintain a reserve equal to a certain percentage of their deposits in an account at a Federal Reserve bank. Any money in their reserve that exceeds the required level is available for lending to other banks that might have a shortfall.
US Dollar LIBOR Three Month Rate
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans. LIBOR, which stands for London Interbank Offered Rate, serves as a globally accepted key benchmark interest rate that indicates borrowing costs between banks. The rate is calculated and published each day by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
Personal Income
Personal income refers to all income collectively received by all individuals or households in a country. Personal income includes compensation from a number of sources including salaries, wages, and bonuses received from employment or self-employment; dividends and distributions received from investments; rental receipts from real estate investments and profit-sharing from businesses.
Debt to GDP Ratio
The debt-to-GDP ratio is the metric comparing a country's public debt to its gross domestic product (GDP). By comparing what a country owes with what it produces, the debt-to-GDP ratio reliably indicates that particular country’s ability to pay back its debts. Often expressed as a percentage, this ratio can also be interpreted as the number of years needed to pay back debt, if GDP is dedicated entirely to debt repayment.
New Orders
Durable goods orders are an economic indicator released monthly by the Bureau of Census that reflects new orders placed with domestic manufacturers for delivery of factory hard goods (durable goods) in the near term or future. Durable goods orders come in two releases per month: the advance report on durable goods and the manufacturers' shipments, inventories, and orders.
Consumer Sentiment
Consumer sentiment is a statistical measurement and economic indicator of the overall health of the economy as determined by consumer opinion. Consumer sentiment takes into account an individual's feelings toward his or her current financial health, the health of the economy in the short-term and the prospects for longer-term economic growth.
Capacity Utilization
The capacity utilization rate measures the proportion of potential economic output that is actually realized. Displayed as a percentage, the capacity utilization level provides insight into the overall slack that is in an economy or a firm at a given point in time. The formula for finding the rate is:
(Actual Output / Potential Output ) x 100 = Capacity Utilization Rate
(Actual Output / Potential Output ) x 100 = Capacity Utilization Rate
Durable Goods Orders
Durable Goods Orders measures the change in the total value of new orders for long lasting manufactured goods, including transportation items. A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.
Leading Economic Index
The Composite Index of Leading Indicators, otherwise known as the Leading Economic Index (LEI), is an index published monthly by The Conference Board. It is used to predict the direction of global economic movements in future months. The index is composed of 10 economic components whose changes tend to precede changes in the overall economy. Businesses and investors can use the index to help plan their activities around the expected performance of the economy and protect themselves from economic downturns.
Federal Corporate Tax Rate
A corporate tax is a levy placed on a firm's profit by the government. The money collected from corporate taxes is used for a nation's source of income. A firm's operating earnings are calculated by deducting expenses including the cost of goods sold (COGS) and depreciation from revenues. Then, tax rates are applied to generate a legal obligation the business owes the government. Rules surrounding corporate taxation vary greatly worldwide, but they must be voted upon and approved by a country's government to be enacted. Some areas are considered tax heavens, like Jersey, and are heavily prized by corporations.