Consumer Confidence Surveys – As Of September 30, 2016

Doug Short had a blog post of September 30, 2016 (“Michigan Consumer Sentiment :  September Final Up Slightly“) 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 of the above …

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Deloitte “CFO Signals” Report Q3 2016 – Notable Aspects

Recently Deloitte released their “CFO Signals” “High-Level Summary” report for the 3rd Quarter of 2016. As seen in page 2 of the report, “One hundred twenty-two CFOs responded during the two-week period ending August 19. Seventy-three percent of respondents are from public companies, and 80% are from companies with more than $1B in annual revenue. …

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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 September 22, 2016 update (reflecting data through September 16) is -1.007. 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 August 2016

Many people place emphasis on Durable Goods New Orders as a prominent economic indicator and/or leading economic indicator. For reference, below are two charts depicting this measure. First, from the St. Louis Fed site (FRED), a chart through August 2016, updated on September 28, 2016. This value is $226,937 ($ Millions): (click on charts to …

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Money Supply Charts Through August 2016

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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The U.S. Economic Situation – September 23, 2016 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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Updates Of Economic Indicators September 2016

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 September 2016 Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) updated as of September 22, 2016: (current reading of CFNAI is -.55; current reading of CFNAI-MA3 is -.07): – The ECRI …

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Janet Yellen’s September 21, 2016 Press Conference – Notable Aspects

On Wednesday, September 21, 2016 Janet Yellen gave her scheduled September 2016 FOMC Press Conference. (link of video and related materials) Below are Janet Yellen’s comments I found most notable – although I don’t necessarily agree with them – in the order they appear in the transcript.  These comments are excerpted from the “Transcript of …

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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 September 15, 2016 update (reflecting data through September 9) is -1.134. 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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