Consumer confidence soars in March to best reading in 16 years

  • March 28, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index leapt to 125.6 in March from 116.1 in February, coming in well ahead of the consensus of 114.1.

READ MORE

Fed’s Evans says he supports ‘one or two’ more interest-rate hikes this year

  • March 29, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

The fundamentals of the U.S. economy are good and call for another one or two increases in short-term interest rates this year, said Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Wednesday. Over the next few years, economic growth should average a little above potential, which is not even as high as 2%, Evans said in a

READ MORE

Pending home sales jump in February

  • March 29, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

Contract signings for home sales boomed in February to the second-highest level in a decade, a trade group said Wednesday. Pending home sales rose 5.5% in February after falling 2.8% in January, the National Association of Realtors reported. That’s the highest level in close to a year

READ MORE

Treasurys pare losses after U.K. formally begins Brexit process

  • March 29, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

Treasury prices gained some ground on Wednesday after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May began the Article 50 process, which formally begins the process of taking the country out of the European Union. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped 2.6 basis points to 2.398%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 2.3 basis

READ MORE

U.S. stock futures dip as focus on Fed and data continues

  • March 30, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

Federal Reserve officials, including Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and his Boston counterpart, Eric Rosengren are scheduled to speak at separate events and may comment on the central bank’s interest rate outlook. Wall Street stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Thursday as investors continued to be on watch for more signals on

READ MORE

U.S. economy shows only modest signs of inflation pressures: Fed

  • April 19, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

The U.S. economy expanded at a modest-to-moderate pace between mid-February and the end of March, but inflation pressures remained in check despite more difficulties in attracting and retaining workers. There is still debate within the Fed about just how rapid and sustained the pickup in inflation will be given that it has struggled to reach

READ MORE

Jobless claims dip 3,000 to 258,000 in late March

  • March 30, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in late March dropped by 3,000 to 258,000, keeping new claims near the lowest level in decades. Economists polled had expected initial jobless claims to total 247,000 in the seven days stretching from March 19 to March 25.

READ MORE

Inflation accelerates again in February to fastest pace since early 2012

  • March 31, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

The rate of inflation in consumer goods and services topped 2% in February for the first time since 2012, a trend that could lead to higher borrowing costs for households and businesses unless it abates soon.

READ MORE

Philadelphia Fed factory gauge slides again from 33-year high, but remains elevated

  • April 20, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

The manufacturing index from the Philadelphia Fed slid in April, but from high levels, suggesting slower growth in the factory sector after a post-election surge. The index fell to 22.0 from 32.8. It had hit a 33-year high of 43.3 in February and has receded every month since then. In a diffusion index, any reading

READ MORE

Fed’s Fischer says first quarter doldrums only temporary

  • April 24, 2017
  • no comment
  • realestatelife

Weak growth in the U.S. economy in the first quarter will likely be temporary and interest-rate hikes should be able to proceed as planned, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Friday. “Our tendency is to think this [weakness in the first quarter] is a transitory change and that growth will be around forecasts in

READ MORE