Succinct Summations for the week ending February 17, 2017
Positives:
1. U.S. stocks closed at record highs, the S&P 500 advanced for the fourth straight week.
2. Jobless claims fell to 239k, the 4-week average is at 245.25k.
3. Housing permits rose 4.6% in January.
4. Retail sales rose 0.4% m/o/m.
5. December vehicles sales were revised up to +3.2%, but fell 1.4% in January.
6. Inflation showed up in producer prices, with PPU rising 0.6% m/o/m
7. Empire manufacturing survey came in at 18.7, above the 7.5 expected and the highest reading in two and a half years.
8. Philly Fed Business Outlook Survey came in at 48.3, the strongest reading since 1984!
9. NFIB small business optimism index rose to 105.9, its highest level since December 2004.
Negatives:
1. Industrial production fell 0.3% m/o/m.
2. CPI rose 0.6% m/o/m in January, double expectations. Y/o/y gain to 2.5%, the highest level in almost 5 years.
3. MBA mortgage purchase applications fell 5% w/o/w, with the refinancing share of activity falling to the lowest point since 2009.
4. Housing starts fell 2.6% to an annualized rate of 1.246M (but above the 1.232M epected)
5. Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q1 forecast fell to 2.4% from 2.7% last week and vs 3.4% in the week prior. Wall Street is about 2.0%
Thanks, Mike!
