Succinct Summations for the week ending August 18th, 2017
Positives:
1.White House Strategist Steve Bannon is fired, giving hope for some policy stability in the future.
2. Initial jobless claims remain low, at 232k. The 4-week average is now down to 240.5k.
3. Retail sales rose 0.6% m/o/m. June was revised higher from -0.2% to +0.3%. .
4. Japan GDP grew at a 4% annualized rate in the most recent quarter, its sixth consecutive expansionary reading, the longest since 2006
5. US July industrial production rose by 0.2% m/o/m, one tenth more than expected
6. Overall capacity utilization held at 76.7%, the most in 2 years
7. Consumer sentiment remains elevated, coming in at 97.6, above the 93.4 expected.
8. Empire state manufacturing survey came in at 25.2, the strongest number since September 2014.
Negatives:
1. U.S. Stocks had a rough day on Thursday, experiencing their worst loss in three months.
2. Housing starts fell to a lower than expected 1.155 million SAAR, below the 1.255 expected.
3. Industrial production rose just 0.2% m/o/m, below the 0.3% expected rise.
4. Motor vehicle/parts production fell by 3.6% m/o/m and are now down 5% y/o/y as auto markets adjust to too much inventory.
5. Outside of petroleum, import and export prices came in flat m/o/m.
6. Purchase applications for a mortgage fell by a seasonally adjusted 2% w/o/w
Thanks, Mike!
