Peter's Blog

U.S. consumer confidence suffered a sharp blow yesterday, plummeting 7.2 points to 92.9, according to the latest data from the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index. Alarmingly, the Expectations Index, which measures consumers’ short-term outlook on the economy, tumbled to 65.2—its lowest level in 12 years—breaking well below the critical 80-point threshold that traditionally signals an […]

The latest S&P Global Flash US PMI Composite Output Index for March signaled a mixed economic outlook, rising to 53.5 from February’s 51.6. Stronger performance in services gave optimism, as the Flash US Services PMI Business Activity Index surged notably to 54.3, up from the prior month’s 51.0. However, manufacturing painted a different, troubling picture: […]

The analysis below covers the Employment picture released on the first Friday of every month. While most of the attention goes to the Headline Report, it can be helpful to look at the details, revisions, and other reports to get a better gauge of what is really going on.

This analysis takes the BLS inflation data and recalculates the percentage changes at the category level to get unrounded numbers. The total number ties to the BLS, but it gives more detail at the granular level.

Money Supply is a very important indicator. It helps show how tight or loose current monetary conditions are regardless of what the Fed is doing with interest rates. Even if the Fed is tight, if Money Supply is increasing, it has an inflationary effect.