Zillow Q2 2017 Home Price Expectations Survey – Summary & Comments

On May 31, 2017, the Zillow Q2 2017 Home Price Expectations Survey results were released.  This survey is done on a quarterly basis. Two excerpts from the Press Release: Expectations for overall home price growth are stronger now than they were a year ago. A year ago, panelists predicted that home prices would rise 3.4 percent …

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House Prices Reference Chart

As a reference for long-term house price index trends, below is a chart, updated with the most current data (through March) from the CalculatedRisk blog post of May 30, 2017 titled “Real Prices and Price-to-Rent Ratio in March”: (click on chart to enlarge image) _________ I post various indicators and indices because I believe they …

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Consumer Confidence Surveys – As Of May 30, 2017

Doug Short had a blog post of May 30, 2017 (“Michigan Consumer Confidence Down, Remains Optimistic“) 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 charts that I …

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Corporate Profits As A Percentage Of GDP

In the last post (“1st Quarter 2017 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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1st Quarter 2017 Corporate Profits

Today’s (May 26, 2017) GDP release (Q1, 2nd Estimate)(pdf) was accompanied by the BLS Corporate Profits report for the 1st 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 (without IVA …

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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 May 18, 2017 update (reflecting data through May 12, 2017) is -1.496. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other …

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Median Household Income Chart

I have written many blog posts concerning the worrisome trends in income and earnings. Doug Short, in his May 23, 2017 post titled “April Real Median Household Income Shows Encouraging Growth,” produced the chart below.  It is based upon data from Sentier Research, and it shows both nominal and real median household incomes since 2000, as …

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Money Supply Charts Through April 2017

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 – May 23, 2017 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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