Robert Hughes

New Home Sales Rise as Consumer Confidence Ticks Down

Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported a healthy gain in sales of existing single-family homes for March. Today, the Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes […]

A Look Ahead to Friday’s 1Q GDP Report

The Commerce Department will release its first estimate of first quarter 2017 gross domestic product on Friday, April 28. Estimates of the growth rate for GDP vary widely leading up […]

Americans Feeling Good About the Economy

The University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers shows that Americans are feeling good about the economy. The Index of Consumer Sentiment rose to 98.0 in mid-April, up from 96.9 in […]

Labor Market Glass Is Half Full

Following last Friday’s jobs report, new labor market indicators show some mixed results but the net take-away is that the labor market has good momentum and the U.S. economy is […]

Don’t Panic Over Weak March Jobs Report

The headline payroll number from the March jobs report shows a gain of just 98,000 jobs in the month. That number was well below the consensus estimate of 180,000. Adding […]

Conflicting Signals on the Economy

The most recent indicators on the economy released over the first few days of April provide mixed signals about the pace of economic growth but do not suggest the expansion […]

shutterstock_63392959

Economy Stronger than GDP Headline Suggests

Final estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show real gross domestic product rose 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 1.6 percent for all of 2016. Those […]