MBA
MBA's office will be closed Friday, December 24, 2021, and will reopen on Monday, January 3, 2022. Due to the holiday, the results for the weeks ending December 24, 2021, and December 31, 2021, will be released on January 5, 2022.
Wholesale Inventories Advance
US wholesale inv
Jobless Claims
Initial filings for unemployment insurance dipped last week and remained close to their lowest level in more than 50 years, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 25 totaled 198,000, less than the 205,000 Dow Jones forecast and a dip of 8,000 from the previous period. When adjusting for weekly volatility, the four-week moving average for claims came to 199,250, the lowest level since Oct. 25, 1969. Continuing claims, the data for which runs a week behind the headline number, dropped by 140,000 to 1.72 million, the lowest level since March 7, 2020, just before the Covid pandemic declaration.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller
U.S. home prices surged again in October as the housing market continues to boom in the wake of last year’s coronavirus recession. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, out Tuesday, climbed 18.4% in October 2021 from a year earlier. The gain marked a slight deceleration from a 19.1% year-over-year increase in September 2021but was about in line with what economists had been expecting. All 20 cities posted double-digit annual gains. The hottest markets were Phoenix (up 32.3%), Tampa (28.1%) and Miami (25.7%). Minneapolis and Chicago posted the smallest increases, 11.5% each. The housing market has been strong thanks to rock-bottom mortgage rates, a limited supply of homes on the market, and pent-up demand from consumers locked in last year by the pandemic. Many Americans, tired of being cooped up at home during the pandemic, are looking to trade up from apartments to homes or to bigger houses. It remains unclear if that shift is permanent or an aberration, said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices....
U.S. home prices surge 18.4% in October 2021. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, out Tuesday, climbed 18.4% in October from a year earlier. The gain marked a slight deceleration from a 19.1% year-over-year increase in September but was about in line with what economists had been expecting. All 20 cities posted double-digit annual gains. The National Association of Realtors reported last week that sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third straight month in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46 million.
FHFA
FHFA House Price Index Up 1.1 Percent in October; Up 17.4 Percent from Last Year. House prices rose nationwide in October, up 1.1 percent from the previous month, according to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (FHFA HPI®). House prices rose 17.4 percent from October 2020 to October 2021. The previously reported 0.9 percent price change for September 2021 remained unchanged.
U.S. Trade in goods
The U.S. trade deficit in goods mushroomed to the widest ever in November as imports of consumer goods shot to a record ahead of the second straight COVID-distorted holiday shopping season along with industrial supplies, while exports slipped after a historic gain a month earlier. The goods trade gap reported Wednesday by the Commerce Department is likely to remain historically high as long as the coronavirus pandemic continues, economists said. The emergence of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 that has driven U.S. and global caseloads to a record this week may exacerbate it further in the near term if it limits American consumers' spending on services and restokes demand for imported goods.
The goods trade deficit widened last month by 17.5% to $97.8 billion from $83.2 billion in October, Census Bureau data showed. That exceeds the previous record deficit set in September of $97 billion and may damp optimism that trade might finally add to U.S. economic growth this quarter for the first time in more than a year.
The goods trade deficit widened last month by 17.5% to $97.8 billion from $83.2 billion in October, Census Bureau data showed. That exceeds the previous record deficit set in September of $97 billion and may damp optimism that trade might finally add to U.S. economic growth this quarter for the first time in more than a year.
Prnding Home Sales
Pending Home Sales Subside 2.2% in November. Contract signings fell 2.2% in November, a reversal of last month’s increase. Compared to the prior month, contract signings dropped in all regions. Compared to one year ago, contract signings were 2.7% lower. Pending home sales slipped in November, receding slightly after a previous month of gains, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Each of the four major U.S. regions witnessed contract transactions decline month-over-month. Year-over-year activity mostly retreated too, as three regions reported drops and only the Midwest saw an increase.
10 Year Treasury Yield
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield finishes 2021 above 1.5%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield finished 2021 above the 1.5% threshold in a year marked by the Covid pandemic and Federal Reserve policy. The bond market closed at 2:00 p.m. ET on Friday for the New Year’s Eve holiday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was little changed at 1.512%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped 2 basis points to 1.905%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
Consumer Credit
U.S. consumer credit moderates in October — U.S. consumer credit increased $16.9 billion in October, down from a $27.8 billion gain in September. Reuters survey of economists forecast:$25.00 bln increase in U.S. Oct. consumer credit.
October Consumer Credit grew by $16.9B (M/M) vs. $30.3B consensus and $27.8B prior (revised from $29.9B). |
