Subdued corporate capX now will adversely impact productivity later First time in 6 years, U.S. non-financials corporate capX exceeds internal funds Given new energy dynamics and impact on capX, too early to back-slap and high-five? U.S. corporations have not been … Continued
Fed gets rid of “patient”, but hints it will be patient in hiking rates Surging dollar impacts exports; Fed takes 2015 GDP forecast down a notch With economic data increasingly coming in weak, rate-hike odds this year next to nil … Continued
Setback in orders for business-capex proxy; down four consecutive months Inventory-to-order ratios, nowhere near previous peaks, trending higher Zero-bound suppressed rates probably impacting incentive to borrow The much-anticipated capex boom in the U.S. will just have to wait a while … Continued
Market expectations for rate hike next year runs risk of disappointment With monetary quiver nearly empty, Fed very much focused on wealth effect Job even more difficult, given adverse effects of cheap money beginning to loom Markets are sending mixed … Continued
U.S. capacity utilization inched up 0.8 percentage point month-over-month in November. The 80.1 reading is the highest since 80.3 in March 2008. It is inching ever closer to the four-decade-plus average of 80.6 (going back all the way to January … Continued
As we await the FOMC statement this afternoon, the adjacent chart is apropos. In it, US federal debt has been plotted against interest payments (seasonally adjusted annual rates) of the federal government. The latter is calculated as a share of … Continued
There is probably no other price as important as the price of money – that is, interest rates. They are what grease the wheels of an economy. Simplistically, when rates are high, people are incentivized to save more. When they … Continued
The Institute for Supply Management’s monthly survey of economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector is one of the reliable indicators economists/market participants focus on. As with any other data point, it tends to correlate with other data points. The … Continued