Breaking News
Sep 26, 2024
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New orders for manufactured durable goods were nearly unchanged from the previous month in August, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.
New order growth slowed sharply from the 9.8% surge in July, which was the highest rate of growth in four years.
The better-than-expected orders contrasted with the growing pessimism about manufacturing sector activities, suggesting that the current slowdown may be temporary.
New orders excluding transportation increased 0.5%, and excluding volatile defense goods eased 0.2%.
On an annual basis, new orders for durable goods declined 1.3%.
Non-defense capital goods orders declined 1.3% from the previous month in August, and excluding volatile aircraft orders rose 0.2%.
From the previous year, non-defense capital goods orders dropped 6.5%, and excluding aircraft rose 0.3%.
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Initial weekly jobless claims decreased 4,000 to 218,000 at the end of the last week, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Jobless claims dropped to a 4-month low, and continuing claims rose 13,000 to 1.834 million in the previous week.
Despite the recent decline in jobless claims, labor market conditions have softened from a year ago and earlier months in the year as employers avoid adding new staff.
Investors are now awaiting the release of monthly nonfarm payroll data, which could provide additional insights into the current conditions of the labor market. -
The second quarter GDP growth estimate was unrevised at 3.0% in the third estimate and higher than the 1.6% increase in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.
The GDP update primarily reflected upward revisions to private inventory investment (8.3% from 7.5%) and federal government spending (4.3% from 3.3%) that were offset by downward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment (3.9% from 4.6%) and exports (1% from 1.6%).
Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, were revised.
The government agency also revised its GDP growth estimate in the first quarter to 1.6% from the previous estimate of 1.4%, primarily reflecting an upward revision to consumer spending that was partly offset by downward revisions to private inventory investment and residential fixed investment.
Sep 25, 2024
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The sale of single-family houses in August declined 4.7% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 716,000. the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Wednesday.
The single-family house sale declined from the July's revised rate of 751,000, but is 9.8% higher than the estimate of 652,00 in August of last year.
The new home month of supply decreased by 1.3% from a year ago and rose by 6.8% form the previous month to a supply of 7.8 months at the current sales rate.
The median sales price of new houses sold in August 2024 was $420,600, and the average price was $492,700.
Sep 23, 2024
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On Monday, the manufacturing and service sector activities survey kicked off a busy week of economic releases.
The S&P Global Flash U.S. Composite PMI declined to 54.4 in September from 54.6 in August.
The private sector activity growth remained strong, suggesting a robust economic expansion in the third quarter.
Growth in the service sector remained strong, but it edged lower to 55.4 in September from 55.7 in August, but the contraction in manufacturing deepened to 47 from 47.9 in the previous month.
Prices for goods and services rose at the fastest pace since March; input costs advanced the most in a year.
Investors are looking forward to the release of the PCE price index, an alternative measure of inflation, amid expectations of a monthly increase of 0.2%.
Second quarter GDP growth revision, durable goods orders, and new and pending home sales data are also set to be released this week.