Consumer Confidence Surveys – As Of November 26, 2014

Doug Short had a blog post of November 26, 2014 (“Michigan Consumer Sentiment for November Slightly Trims Its Strong Preliminary Reading“) in which he presents the latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence and Thomson/Reuters University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index charts.  They are presented below: (click on charts to enlarge images) – – There are a few aspects …

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Money Supply Charts Through October 2014

For reference purposes, below are two sets of charts depicting growth in the money supply. The first shows the MZM (Money Zero Maturity), defined in FRED as the following: M2 less small-denomination time deposits plus institutional money funds. Money Zero Maturity is calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Here is the “MZM …

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Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI)

The St. Louis Fed’s Financial Stress Index (STLFSI) is one index that is supposed to measure stress in the financial system.  Its reading as of the November 26, 2014 update (reflecting data through November 21) is -1.088. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other related …

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Durable Goods New Orders – Long-Term Charts Through October 2014

Many people place emphasis on Durable Goods New Orders as a prominent economic indicator and/or leading economic indicator. For reference, below are charts depicting this measure. First, from the St. Louis Fed site (FRED), a chart through October, updated on November 26, 2014.  This value is 243, 806 ($ Millions) : (click on charts to …

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Corporate Profits As A Percentage Of GDP

In the last post (“3rd Quarter 2014 Corporate Profits“) I displayed, for reference purposes, a long-term chart depicting Corporate Profits After Tax. There are many ways to view this measure, both on an absolute as well as relative basis. One relative measure is viewing Corporate Profits as a Percentage of GDP.  I feel that this …

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3rd Quarter 2014 Corporate Profits

Today’s GDP release (Q3, 2nd Estimate)(pdf) was accompanied by the BLS Corporate Profits report for the 3rd Quarter. Of course, there are many ways to adjust and depict overall Corporate Profits.  For reference purposes, here is a chart from the St. Louis Federal Reserve (FRED) showing the Corporate Profits After Tax (last updated November 25, 2014, …

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Updates Of Economic Indicators November 2014

Here is an update of various indicators that are supposed to predict and/or depict economic activity. These indicators have been discussed in previous blog posts: The November 2014 Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)(pdf) updated as of November 24, 2014: – The ECRI WLI (Weekly Leading Index): As of November 21, 2014 (incorporating data through …

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Markets During Periods Of Federal Reserve Intervention – November 24, 2014 Update

In the August 9, 2011 post (“QE3 – Various Thoughts“) I posted a chart that depicted the movements of the S&P500, 10-Year Treasury Yield and the Fed Funds rate spanning the periods of various Federal Reserve interventions since 2007. For reference purposes, here is an updated chart (through November 20) from Doug Short’s blog post …

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The U.S. Economic Situation – November 24, 2014 Update

Perhaps the main reason that I write of our economic situation is that I continue to believe, based upon various analyses, that our economic situation is in many ways misunderstood.  While no one likes to contemplate a future rife with economic adversity, current and future economic problems must be properly recognized and rectified if high-quality, …

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