America's Economic Future – A Discussion By Ted Kavadas
In the last post (“2nd 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 …
Today’s (August 30, 2017) GDP release (Q2, 2nd Estimate)(pdf) was accompanied by the BLS Corporate Profits report for the 2nd 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 …
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 August 24, 2017 update (reflecting data through August 18, 2017) is -1.48. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other …
As a reference for long-term house price index trends, below is a chart, updated with the most current data (through June) from the CalculatedRisk blog post of August 29, 2017 titled “Real Prices and Price-to-Rent Ratio in June”: (click on chart to enlarge image) _________ I post various indicators and indices because I believe they …
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 July 2017, updated on August 25, 2017. This value is $229,161 ($ Millions): (click on charts to …
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 August 17, 2017 update (reflecting data through August 11, 2017) is -1.507. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other …
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 …
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, …
On August 21, 2017, the Zillow Q3 2017 Home Price Expectations Survey results were released. This survey is done on a quarterly basis. An excerpt from the press release: The panelists expect a future recession to have a moderate impact on the U.S. housing market overall, but some markets are more at risk than others. More than …
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 August 2017 Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) updated as of August 21, 2017: The CFNAI, with current reading of -.01: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago Fed National Activity …