Succinct Summations for the week ending January 26th, 2018
Positives:
1. Markets closed at another set of record highs.
2. Consumer spending rose by 3.8%, up from 2.2% previously and above the 3.6% expected increase.
3. Durable goods orders rose 2.9% m/o/m, above the 0.6% expected increase.
4. New home sales fell 9.3% from a 733k SAAR to 625K. However, this is down from the best reading of the expansion, and 625K is the fourth highest number in the current economic expansion.
5. MBA mortgage applications rose 4.5% w/o/w, with the purchase index rising 6%.
6. Jobless claims rose slightly to 233k, but the 4-week moving average remains exceptionally low at 240k.
Negatives:
1. GDP rose to only 2.6% on an annualized basis, disappointing those who were confident we were already at a 3% run rate.
2. Existing home sales fell 3.6% in December, from a 5.81M annualized rate to 5.57M.
3. PMI composite came in a 53.8, slightly below the 54 expected.
4. Richmond fed manufacturing index slowed from 20 to 14, below the 18 expected.
Thanks, Mike!
