America's Economic Future – A Discussion By Ted Kavadas
I found various notable items in Walmart’s Q1 2017 management call transcript (pdf) dated May 19, 2016. (as well, there is Walmart’s press release of the Q1 results(pdf) and related presentation materials) I view Walmart’s results and comments as particularly noteworthy given their retail prominence and focus on low prices. I have previously commented on their quarterly management call comments; these previous …
On Friday (May 13, 2016) the yield on the 10-Year Treasury closed at 1.705%. As a reference, here is a long-term chart of the 10-Year Treasury yield since 1980, depicted on a monthly basis, LOG scale: (click on charts to enlarge images)(charts courtesy of StockCharts.com; chart creation and annotation by the author) Here is a …
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 May 13, 2016) from Doug Short’s blog …
In the October 6, 2015 post (“Comparisons Of Economic And Financial Aspects – 2008 And 2015“) I discussed credit spreads and featured a chart of the spread between Moody’s Seasoned Baa Corporate Bond and the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity. For reference, here is an updated long-term chart of that measure, with a current reading (updated …
Throughout this site there are many charts of economic indicators. At this time, the readings of these various indicators are especially notable. While many are still indicating economic growth, others depict (or imply) various degrees of economic weakness. Perhaps most prominent among those indicating economic growth is the First Quarter 2016 “Advance Estimate” of GDP …
I have written many blog posts concerning the worrisome trends in income and earnings. Along these lines, one of the measures showing disconcerting trends is that of hourly earnings. While the concept of hourly earnings can be defined and measured in a variety of ways, below are a few charts that I believe broadly illustrate problematic …
On May 3, 2016 Gallup released the poll results titled “U.S. Economic Confidence Down in April.” Notable excerpts include: Americans’ confidence in the economy retreated in April, with Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index averaging -14 for the month, down from -10 in March. The April average ties with September 2015 as numerically the worst since confidence …
Doug Short had a blog post of April 29, 2016 (“Michigan Consumer Sentiment: April Final Continue Slow Decline“) 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 …
While the concept of Americans’ incomes can be defined in a number of ways, many prominent measures continue to show disconcerting trends. One prominent measure is the Employment Cost Index (ECI). Here is a description from the BLS document titled “The Employment Cost Index: what is it?“: The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is a quarterly …
I have written many blog posts concerning the worrisome trends in income and earnings. Doug Short, in his April 28, 2016 post titled “March Real Median Household Income Inches Upward” 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 depicted. …