Consumer Confidence Surveys – As Of September 29, 2017

Doug Short had a blog post of September 29, 2017 (“Michigan Consumer Sentiment:  September Final Down from August“) 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 …

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Problematical Aspects Of Today’s Financial System

Perhaps the key issue surrounding the U.S. and global financial system is whether the embedded risk in the system has decreased or increased, especially since the Financial Crisis. There have been much regulation and many other financial reforms made since the Financial Crisis.  These reforms, as well as other factors such as the protracted period …

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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 21, 2017 update (reflecting data through September 15, 2017) is -1.533. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other …

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Durable Goods New Orders – Long-Term Charts Through August 2017

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 2017, updated on September 27, 2017. This value is $232,798 ($ Millions): (click on charts to …

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Updates Of Economic Indicators September 2017

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 2017 Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) updated as of September 25, 2017: The CFNAI, with current reading of -.31: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago Fed National Activity …

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Money Supply Charts Through August 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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September 2017 Duke/CFO Global Business Outlook Survey – Notable Excerpts

On September 8, 2017 the September 2017 Duke/CFO Global Business Outlook was released.  It contains a variety of statistics regarding how CFOs view business and economic conditions. In this CFO survey, I found the following to be the most notable excerpts – although I don’t necessarily agree with them: The survey has been conducted for 86 consecutive …

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Deloitte “CFO Signals” Report Q3 2017 – Notable Aspects

Recently Deloitte released their “CFO Signals” “High-Level Summary” report for the 3rd Quarter of 2017. As seen in page 2 of the report, there were 160 survey respondents.  As stated:  “Each quarter (since 2Q10), CFO Signals has tracked the thinking and actions of CFOs representing many of North America’s largest and most influential companies. All …

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