THE BASIS POINT

Fundamentals 8/29: Consumer Inflation, Pending Home Sales

 

Pending Home Sales (July)
-Month/Month: -1.3%
-Year/Year: +14.4%
-Measures homes getting into contract for sale
-Same old story: weak housing market

Personal Income, Expenses & Consumer Inflation
-Personal Income Month/Month: +0.3%
-Personal Income Year/Year: +5.3%
-Consumer Spending Month/Month: +0.8%
-Consumer Spending Year/Year: +5.1%
-Core PCE price index Month/Month: +0.2%
-Core PCE price index Year/Year: +1.6%
-PCE is a measure of inflation including only items individuals buy
-Real (inflation adjusted) Disposable Income & Real PCE charts below

Real Disposable Income
Real PCE

-These data reflect the sharp recovery in Consumer Spending which the Consumer Metrics Institute started showing on July 7. Unfortunately that increase noted by Consumer Metrics flattened two weeks ago. The storm which hit the East Coast this past weekend will take a bite out of consumer spending but create spending on repairs in the coming weeks and months.

Dallas Federal Reserve Manufacturing Survey
-The Dallas Fed general business activity index in July went from -17.5 to -2. Another case of “the good news is that the bad news isn’t as bad as it was.” It may be the weekend after but the fact is that last Friday’s GDP report was dismal and on the same day Bernanke essentially admitted that there was nothing more, at present, that monetary policy could do.

 

WANT TO OUTSMART YOUR FRIENDS?

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

Comments [ 0 ]

WHAT DID WE MISS? COMMENT BELOW.

All comments reviewed before publishing.

14 + eleven =

x