U.S. housing starts fizzle at end of 2017

  • January 18, 2018
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  • realestatelife

Construction on new houses fell 8.2% in December to a 1.19 million annual rate. Economists polled by MarketWatch has forecast housing starts to total 1.28 million. Single-family starts dropped 11.8%, but construction on buildings with five or more units rose 2.6%. Permits for future construction were basically flat at 1.30 million. Still, 2017 was a

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Industrial output jumps 0.9% in December, for the fourth straight monthly gain

  • January 17, 2018
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  • realestatelife

Industrial production rose 0.9% in December for the fourth straight monthly increase, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday. The gain was above Wall Street expectations of a 0.6% increase. For the fourth quarter, production jumped at an 8.2% annual rate, after a 1.3% drop in the prior quarter caused by hurricane damage. For the calander year,

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Empire State factory gauge softens a bit in January

  • January 16, 2018
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  • realestatelife

The Empire State manufacturing survey slipped to 17.7 in January from a revised 19.6 in December, the New York Fed said. Economists had expected activity to inch up to 18.6, according to a surveys.

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Why the Odds Favour a Market Correction

  • January 15, 2018
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  • realestatelife

Tax cuts, rising inflation, a weaker US dollar, strong economic growth…these are all reasons for the markets’ strong rally right now. While you’d have to think nearly all of these positives are priced in, the market just keeps marching higher. Prices have recently gone vertical. That’s not sustainable. I’d therefore expect a decent correction to

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2-year Treasury yield hits crisis-era high on rising rate-hike

  • January 14, 2018
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  • realestatelife

Solid inflation data on Friday sparked anxiety that the bounce in consumer prices would strengthen the Federal Reserve’s resolve to tighten monetary policy at a more aggressive pace. Those fears sent prices for short-dated debt tumbling and yields higher. The 2-year note yield rose 4.2 basis points to 2.014%, its highest level since September 2008

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Dallas Fed chief Kaplan says there’s a chance unemployment will drop below 4% and overshoot full employment

  • January 12, 2018
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  • realestatelife

The unemployment rate in the U.S. is on its way to below 4 percent, a level that Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan believes is an “overshoot” of full employment and a potential danger sign for the economy. Consequently, he thinks the central ought to keep raising rates, at least three times this year, as a

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‘Gimme shelter’: CPI rises 0.1% in December mostly on higher housing costs

  • January 12, 2018
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  • realestatelife

The consumer price index rose 0.1% in December, with four-fifths of the increase tied to the highest cost of housing. The increase matched the forecast. If gas and food are stripped out, the so-called core rate of inflation rose a much sharper 0.3%, a notch above the forecast and the highest reading in almost a

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U.S. retail sales rise 0.4% in December, CPI up 0.1%

  • January 12, 2018
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  • realestatelife

Sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.4% in December to mark the fourth straight gain. The increase was a notch below the forecast of 0.5%, but sales for November and October were both revised higher. Excluding autos and gasoline, retail sales also rose 0.4% last month. The consumer price index, meanwhile, rose 0.1% in December, with

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U.S. producer prices rise to 6-year high in 2017

  • January 11, 2018
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  • realestatelife

U.S. wholesale prices rose in 2017 at the fastest pace in six years, a buildup in inflation that could push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more aggressively unless it lets up. The producer price index increased 2.6% last year, even after a small decline in December. The PPI dipped 0.1% last month. The

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Jobless claims hit nearly 4-month high at start of 2018

  • January 11, 2018
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  • realestatelife

Initial U.S. jobless claims, a tool to measure layoffs, climbed by 11,000 to a nearly four-month high of 261,000 in the seven days ended Jan. 6. That’s the highest level since mid-September and well above the 248,000 forecast of economists. The more stable monthly average of claims increased by 9,000 to 250,750, the government said

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