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Economy in Brief
Canadian Retail Sales Weaken As Inflation Slows
Canada's retail sales show relatively widespread deceleration...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Strengthen
The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.5% (7.0% y/y) during September...
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Growth Continues; Pricing Pressure Eases
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index dipped to 22.2 during October...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Ease
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 210,000 (-8.7% y/y) during the week ended October 13...
U.K. Retail Sales: Doing Well-As-Can-Be-Expected Despite September Drop
U.K. retail sales and growth have all held up remarkably well- so far...
by Tom Moeller March 31, 2005
Personal income rose 0.3% in February. The modest gain followed a 2.5% January decline in the wake of Microsoft's dividend payment. Consensus expectations had been for a 0.4% rise for February.
Disposable personal income rose 0.3% (5.6% y/y) but adjusted for price inflation rose just 0.1% (3.3% y/y).
Wage & salary income edged up just 0.2% (5.5% y/y) in February, one of the weaker gains of the last year. Wages in service producing industries rose 0.1% 6.0% y/y) and factory sector wages rose 0.2% (5.5% y/y).
Personal consumption rose an expected 0.5%. Durable goods spending rose 0.9% (3.7% y/y) and spending on nondurables rose 0.6%, lifted by a 4.3% jump in gasoline prices. Services spending rose 0.5% (5.2% y/y).
The PCE chain price index rose 0.3% in February but less food & energy inflation eased slightly to 0.2%
| Disposition of Personal Income | Feb | Jan | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Income | 0.3% | -2.5% | 5.8% | 5.6% | 3.2% | 1.8% |
| Personal Consumption | 0.5% | 0.1% | 5.8% | 6.0% | 5.2% | 4.6% |
| Savings Rate | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 2.0% |
| PCE Chain Price Index | 0.3% | 0.2% | 2.3% | 2.2% | 1.9% | 1.4% |
| Less food & energy | 0.2% | 0.3% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.8% |
