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[RATS (Regression Analysis of Time Series) Econometric Software](https://estima.com) by Estima is a leading econometrics and time-series analysis software package. It provides ability to do linear and non-linear least squares, forecasting, SUR and ARIMA models and in addition, supports advanced techniques such as GMM, ARCH and GARCH models, state space models, and more.

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US is big leader in global surge in private AI investment

Winnie Tapasanun

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The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose to +0.14 in April from -0.15 in March (-0.20 initially) and +0.09 in February (+0.03 previously), today’s report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago showed, indicating economic growth increased to its highest level since March 2025. The April CFNAI marked the third positive reading in four months and the first m/m rise since January; it was above a low of -0.49 in October 2025 and a reading of -0.36 in April 2025 but below a high of +0.39 in February 2025.

The index's three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3), which smooths out the m/m volatility in the index, inched up to +0.03 in April from +0.02 in March (-0.03 initially), marking the third consecutive positive reading following nine straight negative figures. However, it was slightly below +0.06 in April 2025 and a high of +0.07 in February 2025. The CFNAI-MA3 is expressed in standard deviation units from zero (with a value of zero defined as trend real GDP growth). Research at the Chicago Fed indicates that an average reading of -0.70 or below is consistent with the economy being in a recession. Therefore, the April reading confirmed that the U.S. economy is not currently in a recession.

The April reading reflected m/m increases in two of the four CFNAI key components and two positive contributions. The contribution of the Production & Income index to the CFNAI rose to +0.18 in April, the highest reading since February 2025, from -0.13 in March; it was above -0.11 in April 2025 and a low of -0.61 in January 2024. The contribution of the Sales, Orders & Inventories index increased to +0.02 in April, the fourth positive reading in five months, from -0.03 in March; it was above its recent low of -0.17 in September 2025 and a low of -0.20 in April 2025. Meanwhile, the Employment, Unemployment & Hours index contributed -0.02 in April, down from a neutral value (0.00) in March but marginally above -0.03 in April 2025. The contribution of the Personal Consumption & Housing index fell to -0.04 in April, a three-month low, from 0.00 in March; it was below -0.03 in April 2025 and a high of +0.10 in March 2025.

The CFNAI Diffusion Index—which measures the breadth of change in the component series and is also a three-month moving average—improved to +0.06 in April, the highest reading since October 2022, following +0.03 in March (-0.04 initially) and negative readings during the March 2023 to February 2026 period. A reading of zero indicates that all of the indicators are growing at their long-term average. The April reading was above a low of -0.55 in October 2025 and -0.13 in April 2025 but below a high of +0.14 in September 2022.

The CFNAI is a weighted average of 85 indicators of national economic activity. It is constructed to have an average value of zero and a standard deviation of one. Since economic activity tends toward trend growth rate over time, a positive index reading corresponds to growth above trend and a negative index reading corresponds to growth below trend.

These figures are available in Haver's **SURVEYS** database.

- CFNAI +0.14 in April, highest since March ’25; -0.15 in March.
- Two of four CFNAI components up m/m; two make positive contributions.
- CFNAI-MA3 edges up to +0.03, third straight positive reading; above -0.70 (recession signal).
- CFNAI Diffusion Index rises to +0.06, highest since Oct. ’22.

Chicago Fed National Activity Index Turns Positive in April

Robert Brusca

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The U.K. distributive trades survey in retaliating for the second quarter of 2026 shows some improvement in the business situation expected over the next six months as that reading rose to -15 from -34 in the first quarter, putting it only slightly weaker than its third-quarter 2025 reading of -10. Still, it is a very weak reading.

The employment reading also improved in the second quarter to -30 from -40 in the first quarter. That reading, however, is still lower than its -19 reading in the fourth quarter and its -14 reading on the third quarters of 2025.

Capital spending plans on the quarter for the year ahead registered -52 in the second quarter, compared to -46 in the first quarter; this reading has steadily deteriorated.

Imports have improved slightly in the second quarter, with the reading at  7 compared to  10 in the first quarter and  13 in the fourth quarter.

The expected selling price compared to what it registered a year ago is at 42, compared to 40 in the first quarter; they compared to even stronger values at the end of last year. Expected employment in the second quarter fell sharply to -44 from -23 in the first quarter, and this reading has steadily and strongly deteriorated, particularly in the second quarter itself.

Comparing the trailing 4-quarter to 8-quarter averages shows clear deterioration across the board, except for prices. That clarifies the overall story and trend for retailing. 

The retail rankings are uniformly weak, with the exception that the selling price has a 43.6 percentile standing, which is still below its historic median ranking. However, the standings for imports, capital spending, and employment are all below the 10th percentile, with the business situation coming in an 11.4 percentile standing. The expected selling price has a 63.6 percentile standing, well above its historic median (the median occurs at a ranking of 50%). Meanwhile, employment, looking ahead, has only a 2.9 percentile standing, clearly not much of a vote of confidence in the outlook for the economy.

The wholesaling portion of the distributive trades report also registers weak standings, but they are higher than those seen in retailing, with the business situation at an 18.6 percentile standing, imports at a 25.7 percentile standing, and employment at a 17.1 percentile standing, while capital spending plans are at a very weak 5.7 percentile standing. All these metrics are generally stronger than for retailing; they're still poor readings and generally below their respective medians. The only exception is the selling price with a 77.9 percentile standing, which is only a vote of confidence for inflation. The expected selling price compared to a year ago has a 44.3 percentile standing, while employment expectations compared to a year ago are at a 35-percentile standing.

Similarly, in wholesaling as for retailing, the comparison of 4-quarter to 8-quarter averages shows across the board deterioration, except for prices. The distributive trades sector for retailing as well as for wholesaling is fading.

**Summing up**
The United Kingdom distributive trades survey is telling us clearly that it is a weak environment for the distributive trades. The standings of the current readings are weak, and the outlook and forward-looking portions of the survey are weak as well. The economy continues to fight inflation that has been over the top for some time, and inflation is still above target, keeping the BOE inflation-vigilant. Global conditions are mixed with the cutoff of goods shipments through the Straits of Hormuz impacting economies globally. The second quarter survey is a depressing statement on the state of the outlook for the U.K. economy.

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United Kingdom

U.K. Distributive Trades Survey Is Broadly Weak

Tian Yong Woon

In this week’s Letter, we examine the ongoing Middle East situation through another lens — namely, the fiscal costs it has imposed on Asian economies and the strains that are already beginning to emerge. While the recent surge in bond yields has largely been attributed to inflation-related concerns, yield spikes in some Asian economies have also arguably been driven by fiscal concerns, as governments step up bond issuance to finance support measures (chart 1).

In India, cracks are beginning to show in its fuel subsidy programme, with fuel prices now being raised as previously subsidised rates appear increasingly unsustainable, underscoring the inherently finite nature of such measures (chart 2). While Indonesia continues to hold the line by keeping Pertalite fuel prices unchanged, hikes in more premium fuel grades, coupled with the government’s broader slate of spending initiatives, have left investors increasingly on edge over the country’s fiscal sustainability (chart 3). In Japan, the cabinet is reportedly seeking to put together an additional budget to help cushion inflationary pressures stemming from the Middle East conflict. Although the Prime Minister has sought to allay concerns over additional bond issuance, broader fiscal concerns remain (chart 4).

Against this backdrop of fiscal strain , inflation risks, and geopolitical instability, it is also important to keep in mind the growth-supportive factors still in place across parts of Asia. In particular, the ongoing AI upcycle continues to support exports in several regional economies (chart 5). Taking these crosscurrents into account, we then turn to the week ahead, where central banks will continue to navigate the trade-off between growth and inflation amid a heavy slate of upcoming data releases, particularly across East Asia (chart 6).

**Bond markets**
Global yields have remained elevated, although some pullback has been seen in recent days (chart 1). Inflation-related concerns arising from elevated oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict remain front and centre and are still widely cited as the main driver of the recent spike in nominal yields. However, other factors are also at play, particularly in certain economies. Contributing to the rise in yields in some economies are fiscal concerns. Regarding the US-Iran situation, hopes for a peace deal have once again been raised in recent days, only to be subsequently dampened, underscoring how little concrete progress has ultimately been made. In addition, fresh US strikes on Iranian missile launch sites and boats highlight the continued fragility of the situation. On balance, the world remains stuck in a state of limbo, holding its breath for a positive peace outcome — particularly the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — while the economic effects of its closure continue to weigh on the global economy.

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**India**
Given the fallout from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the subsequent surge in energy prices, several Asian governments have scrambled to contain the strain on household expenses through various measures. In turn, the sharp rise in energy costs has also heightened upside risks to inflation. One common and direct approach has been to cap energy prices, effectively subsidising end-consumers against rising costs. However, as mentioned before, while such measures can provide immediate relief, they are rarely sustainable and often come at significant cost. One example is India, which had largely maintained fixed fuel prices until recently, when state-run refiners started to raising prices for the first time in four years (chart 2) amid extremely elevated oil prices. The move highlighted the limits of fuel subsidies, given their increasingly costly nature especially when the gap between subsidised prices and actual market prices remains excessively wide for a prolonged period, ultimately resulting in sustained financial losses.

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**Indonesia**
Indonesia has taken a similar approach in attempting to shield households from volatile oil prices, particularly through its subsidised Pertalite fuel programme. While the government has pledged to keep prices of Pertalite — the country’s most widely used fuel grade — unchanged through 2026, unsubsidised premium fuel grades such as Pertamax Turbo have already undergone multiple rounds of price hikes, rising by roughly 50% so far, broadly in line with the proportional surge in crude oil prices (chart 3). The persistent fiscal burden of such subsidies, coupled with the current administration’s costly policy ambitions — including its free school lunch programme — has brought renewed attention to Indonesia’s near-to-medium-term fiscal health. Such concerns have, in part, already been reflected in the rupiah’s prolonged weakness and credit outlook downgrades by certain ratings agencies, although other contributing factors are also at play. Adding another layer of policy uncertainty is the government’s recent move to centralise control over commodity exports, which, while arguably well-intentioned, leaves significant room for business uncertainty, particularly regarding how such centralisation will ultimately be implemented.

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**Japan**
Turning to Japan, the government is facing similar challenges in balancing economic support measures against mounting fiscal concerns amid the Middle East conflict. Prime Minister Takaichi’s cabinet is reportedly considering an additional budget worth roughly $19 bn to cushion the economic fallout from higher prices stemming from the crisis, with part of the package expected to fund utility and gas subsidies, among other measures. While such policies may help mitigate some of the growth drag arising from the conflict, they also revive longstanding concerns over fiscal sustainability. That said, Takaichi has stated that the supplementary budget will not lead to additional bond issuance, as some issuance planned under last fiscal year’s budget will likely be cancelled following higher-than-expected tax revenues and unspent allocations elsewhere. Nevertheless, fiscal concerns are likely to persist, given that the existing issuance pipeline remains elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels (chart 4).

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**The exports cushion**
Yet even as the Middle East conflict threatens to impose fiscal strains, lift inflation readings, and push inflation expectations higher, pressure on central banks to maintain tighter monetary policy has also increased. Despite these headwinds, a key driver of growth continues to provide a cushion for several Asian economies in the form of still-robust AI-related demand. Many Asian economies remain well-positioned within the global AI supply chain, allowing them to capture meaningful economic benefits from the ongoing AI investment and buildout cycle. As shown in chart 5, exports of AI-related goods — including semiconductors and integrated circuits — have surged across several Asian economies this year, contributing positively to overall growth as these economies participate in the current AI upcycle. However, this also presents a double-edged dynamic. Economies that become overly reliant on AI-related demand as a primary growth engine may face future vulnerabilities should that demand weaken materially. While the current oil shock has not yet significantly dampened AI-related demand, it remains uncertain whether softer demand for AI goods could eventually emerge as a second- or third-round effect of persistently elevated energy prices.

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**Week ahead**
Asia faces an exceptionally busy week, with key releases from China and Japan alongside policy decisions from the Bank of Korea and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. In China, markets will closely watch the official May PMIs and April industrial profits data for signs of whether the recent run of disappointing economic releases is persisting. Japan’s calendar includes industrial production, retail sales, and household spending figures, all of which should provide further insight into the state of domestic demand and broader economic momentum. The week also brings several key interest rate decisions, most notably from New Zealand and South Korea. Like many central banks across Asia, both the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Bank of Korea are facing growing pressure to place greater emphasis on upside inflation risks and elevated inflation expectations, even at the potential expense of growth, thereby increasing the case for further policy tightening. Several public holidays across the region may also thin market activity at various points during the week.

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Asia

Economic Letter from Asia: Fiscal Strains 

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GfK consumer climate for Germany improves slightly to -29.8 in June from -33.1 in May. In terms of monthly point changes, it's a reasonable improvement month-to-month however this is now the 10th weakest monthly consumer climate reading over the last 25 years and so it's an extremely weak reading. Last month was an even   weaker reading, but that was the 7th weakest reading all time for this index. All the other even weaker readings were during Covid. This is a very weak report, it ranks 286th out of 296 observations.

**A very weak month despite some technical improvement** 
GfK projects a climate figure for June, however, it's underlying data for components are up to date through May. As of May, economic expectations improved slightly to -11.2 from -13.7. Income expectations improved a lot more to -13.0 from -24.4. However, that -24.4 figure was a collapse from -6.3 the month before, so that the rebound in May still leaves a significant net decline over the last two months. We should not be too focused on the month-to-month improvement. Income expectation’s April reading was likely a shock reaction to global events in the Middle East. The propensity to buy index improved to -13.2 in May from -14.4 but once again it's a case of there still being a 2-month decline on the books since the March reading was -10.9 for the propensity to buy. The even weaker propensity to buy readings historically were all in the wake of Covid.

**Very weak rank standing**
On the whole it's another week reading from the GfK survey. This is further underscored by the rank- or the count-percentile standing of the headline which stands in its lower 3.1 percentile. Economic expectations are in their lower 19th-percentile, income expectations are in their lower 13th-percentile and the propensity to buy is in its lower 23.9-percentile. All of these are rankings that are infrequently weaker than their readings in May.

**Select European comparisons**
As a comparison I include the most up-to-date readings for Italy, France, and the UK on confidence. Italy and France have up-to-date readings through April; the UK has an up-to-date reading through May. The three countries all show declines in confidence from April to May; the UK shows a slight improvement from May to June. If we look at the most current readings, the percentile standing for Italy is a 50-percentile standing, which implies that the current reading is right on top of its median. For France it's a 5.8 percentile standing, marking the reading as weaker less than 6% of the time. For the UK, the May standing is a 26.5 percentile standing, just above the lower quartile of its historic queue of data.

**Wrap up**
There was nothing reassuring in these data. The economies are struggling as we saw in the S&P PMI data from yesterday from the early reporters of PMI statistics. Of course, the inflation data are uniformly poor globally, so it remains a difficult time and the consumers are feeling a good deal of pressure from inflation and a certain amount of economic uncertainty.
 


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Germany

German Confidence in June (GfK) Remains Extremely Weak

Michael J. Moran

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Housing starts fell 2.8% in April, but the drop followed a jump of 12% in March that had pushed activity to one of the firmest levels of the past few years. Even with the decline in April, starts remained in the upper end of the recent range. In fact, March and April combined brought the best two-month performance since late 2023.

The housing sector has been generally soft in the past few years. Activity was strong in late 2020 and 2021 as the economy recovered from the pandemic and as low interest rates boosted affordability. However, the market cooled in 2022 as the Fed tightened monetary policy, and home construction has been lethargic since then. The contribution of residential construction to GDP growth has been negative in seven of the past eight quarters (subtracting 0.1 percentage point on average). The improvement in multi-family activity offers the prospect of a positive contribution in the quarters ahead, but it would probably not be a large one. Single-family activity has a heavier weight in residential construction, and recent results have not been firm enough to suggest meaningful gains.

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Multi-family construction led the advance in the past two months, increasing 14.7% in March and 10.3% in April. The trend in multi-family starts had been moving sideways for a time (note the 6-month average in the left chart), but recent gains have quickened the pace, perhaps renewing the upward drift that began in 2024. Single-family construction stirred in March (up 10.7 percent), but it gave back much of the advance with a decline of 9.0% in April. Still, the six-month average of single family starts is tilting upward, although only mildly so.

The slight pick up in single-family starts is encouraging, but recent movement in building permits suggests caution. Single-family permits fell in both March and April, offsetting a hint of improvement in February and leaving little change in the six-month average (chart, lower right). Multi-family permits have moved erratically in recent months, but they are drifting higher on average.

The housing starts and permits figures can be found in Haver’s **USECON** database. The expectations figure is contained in the **AS1REPNA** database.



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- March & April brought the best two-month performance since late 2023.
- Multi-family activity has led the advance; single-family activity lags.


Housing Starts: Hints of Improvement

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You may recognize the excerpted headline quote as "borrowing" from US Admiral David Farragut. It is a famous quote from a US Civil war battle in which he charged ahead in his ship regardless of the risk. This month the global manufacturing PMIs themselves are charging ahead regardless of the rise of inflation, the war in Ukraine, the war in Iran, the closure or impedance in the strait of Hormuz, and the mucking up of oil and nonoil supply lines. Full speed ahead! 

**Trend…**
The chart shows an ongoing recovery in manufacturing. It also shows that conditions are only ‘better’ and not ‘strong.’  Yet when we rank these individual PMIs against their historic results back to January 2022, the median rank across these 18 reporters is 90.8-percent, signaling that they have been higher less than 10% of the time back to 2022. Of course, 2022-2023 represented low points for manufacturing after Covid. There was a strong recovery from Covid and then the sucker-punch from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Nonetheless on that timeline recovery is still in progress and – so far- not even the Middle East war and other geopolitical turmoil, including a real donnybrook within NATO, has sidetracked it despite the impact on oil prices. That may not last, but it is the current situation.

**A test for central banks**
With inflation rising central banks are being put to the test. They failed the post Covid test and waited too long to hike rates. We did get recovery but inflation, too. Will they do that again? Or will they hike rates sooner? Will they try not to make the same mistake and make, instead, a new mistake by getting too tight too soon? Markets simply do not know. But in the US and UK there are five years of missing monetary inflation targets and in other key countries the inflation targets also have been broadly missed even if headline inflation recently had dipped into the target range in the last few months or so. Central banks are facing a challenge after their last challenge was not met with success and after a relatively long period – a solid legacy- of missing on the promises they made to the public on inflation. 

**Solid PMI trends:** The sequential, as well as the current, monthly data show how widespread change has been tilted in a positive direction. While conditions are broadly better, the current month’s median reading is only at a PMI value 52.4. So, manufacturing conditions are only slightly above breakeven (a PMI of 50) but they have been weak for so long that this is an exceptionally strong reading compared to the last four and half years of results. 

**Some examples:** The weak manufacturing readings on the month by ranking are for Turkey, Russia, India, and Indonesia. However, these are own-PMI comparisons and India is one of the strongest readings in April on a cross-section basis (Compared to other countries in April, rather than to its own history) having the third strongest manufacturing reading in April. Malaysia, South Korea. Taiwan, and Japan each have the strongest readings (or nearly so) since January of 2022; as a result, Taiwan and Japan also rank one and two among 19-reporter readings in April. South Korea ranks sixth, But Malaysia has been so weak it still ranks only 11th despite a 99.2% high-low standing.

**In Sum:** The bottom line is that recovery has not been derailed. Yet… But this is only an April report. And, given time, this rebound could be untracked. It is only a rebound from the lows. So, the expansion is still at risk even with global labor markets still tight based on unemployment readings. Economic growth is a slippery slope; the trend is only your friend until it turns on you. 


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Global MFG PMIs Sweep Higher: Damn the Torpedoes!

Andrew Cates

**Inflation angst and renewed bond market jitters**
The recent rise in US Treasury yields has coincided with a renewed upswing in US economic surprises, particularly on the inflation and labour market fronts. As chart 1 illustrates below, our newly developed and combined Haver US Labour Market Surprise Index and Inflation Surprise Index (see methodological note at the end of this document) has moved back into positive territory, indicating that incoming data for labour market activity and inflation have, on balance, been coming in stronger than consensus expectations. This rebound has occurred against an increasingly fragile global backdrop marked by rising oil prices, shipping disruptions and renewed geopolitical tensions linked to the Middle East conflict. Markets are becoming increasingly concerned that higher energy costs could feed into broader inflation pressures at a time when underlying labour market momentum remains firmer than many expected. 

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**Central banks face renewed inflation concern**
A rise in short-term government bond yields has become increasingly broad-based across the major developed economies, with UK, US and Japanese two-year yields all trending higher in recent weeks. Investors are increasingly concerned that renewed geopolitical instability in the Middle East and higher energy prices could prolong global inflation pressures just as many central banks had been preparing for a gradual easing cycle. UK yields remain elevated amid persistent domestic inflation concerns, while Japanese yields have also continued to edge higher as markets reassess the outlook for Bank of Japan policy normalization in a world of rising imported energy costs. The synchronized move higher in front-end yields reflects growing unease that central banks may ultimately face a more difficult trade-off between supporting growth and containing another inflationary impulse.

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**Weak labour bargaining power may limit inflation persistence**
Despite growing market anxiety about renewed inflation pressures, an important structural counterpoint comes from the continued weakness in labour’s share of US national income. As the next chart illustrates, labour’s share of nonfarm business income has declined to multi-decade lows. Historically, sustained inflation cycles have often been associated with stronger labour bargaining power, rising wage shares and the emergence of wage-price dynamics. Today, however, workers appear to retain relatively limited pricing power within the broader economy, particularly compared with earlier inflationary eras such as the 1970s. This may help explain why longer-term inflation expectations have, so far, remained relatively contained despite higher energy prices and geopolitical instability. 

At the same time as this, the prolonged decline in labour’s share of income may also help explain the broader rise of populist politics across many advanced economies. Weak wage growth relative to profits, rising inequality and a growing perception that the gains from globalization and asset appreciation have been unevenly distributed have contributed to mounting political dissatisfaction. 

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**Energy markets remain under strain**
Yet the principal counterargument to the more benign inflation outlook suggested by weak labour bargaining power lies on the supply side — most notably in energy markets. As the chart shows, oil prices have remained elevated even as broader measures of geopolitical risk have started to retreat from their recent extremes. The Caldara-Iacoviello Geopolitical Risk Index suggests that fears of a major regional escalation in the Middle East have eased somewhat. However, Brent crude prices continue to reflect persistent disruption to energy flows and shipping routes, particularly given the ongoing effective closure and disruption surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. This divergence matters because financial markets and central banks are increasingly confronting the possibility that supply-side inflation pressures may persist even without a further escalation in military conflict. In other words, fading war fears do not necessarily imply a normalization in energy markets. Instead, the global economy may be entering a more prolonged period of structurally higher energy and transport costs, adding to inflation pressures even as underlying demand conditions soften. The result is an increasingly uncomfortable backdrop for policymakers, combining weaker growth momentum with renewed upside risks to inflation and interest rates.

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**Benign Core CPI Inflation For Now**
Ultimately, what will matter most for central banks is not simply higher oil prices themselves, but the extent to which those higher costs feed through into broader underlying inflation. On that front, the recent inflation data from several advanced economies have, so far, remained remarkably benign. As the chart illustrates, core inflation measures pubished this week in the UK, Canada and Austria have all continued to moderate despite renewed geopolitical tensions and rising energy prices. This suggests that the broader inflationary impulse across goods, services and wages remains contained for now.

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**The AI Investment Boom**
Yet even as markets grapple with inflation risks, energy shocks and slowing global demand, financial markets continue to be dominated by one extraordinarily powerful countervailing force: the AI investment boom. As the chart illustrates, capital expenditure among the major technology firms — including Meta, Oracle, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft — has exploded higher over the past several years as the race to build generative AI infrastructure intensifies. Collectively, these firms have spent almost $1.5 trillion on capital expenditure since early 2021, with spending in Q1 2026 alone reaching an extraordinary $179 billion, nearly double the level of a year earlier.

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Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the associated surge in energy prices have pushed inflation and bond market concerns back to the forefront of global financial markets. Investors are increasingly worried that central banks may now face even greater difficulty in bringing inflation fully under control, particularly in economies where underlying price pressures had already remained sticky prior to the latest energy shock. Recent upside surprises in US labour market and inflation data have already contributed to higher Treasury yields and a broader global backup in short-term government bond yields across the major economies (charts 1 and 2). Yet the picture is not entirely one-sided. Labour’s share of US national income remains historically weak, suggesting limited underlying wage bargaining power and helping explain why broader inflation persistence could ultimately remain contained (chart 3). Meanwhile, oil prices have remained elevated despite some moderation in broader geopolitical risk indicators, reflecting persistent supply-side disruption and ongoing stress surrounding key global energy and shipping routes (chart 4). Even so, recent core inflation data from economies including the UK, Canada and Austria suggest that pass-through from higher energy costs into broader underlying inflation has so far remained relatively limited (chart 5). At the same time, financial markets continue to be supported by an extraordinary AI-driven investment boom, with technology firms engaged in an unprecedented surge in spending on data centres, semiconductors and energy infrastructure (chart 6). Increasingly, the global economy appears caught between two powerful and competing forces: renewed supply-side inflation risks on one side and a historic wave of AI-driven technological investment on the other.

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Charts of the Week: Surprise, Surprise

Kathleen Stephansen, CBE

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Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 3,000 to 209,000 in the week ending May 16, from 212,000 in the week ending May 9, revised from 211,000. The four-week average declined by 1,500 to 202,500 in the week ending May 16, from 204,000 the May 9 week, revised marginally from 203,750. The Action Economics/Haver Analytics Survey looked for 210,000 claims to have been filed. 

The total number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries—also known as “continuing claims”—rose by 6,000 to 1.782 million in the week ending May 9, from 1.776 million in the week ending May 2, revised from 1.782 million. The four-week moving average declined to 1.773 million in the latest week from 1.780 in the May 2 week, revised from 1.781 million. The four-week moving average reached the lowest level since January 2024. The insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2% in the week of May 9. Except for a one-week dip to 1.1% in the week of April 25, the insured unemployment rate has been at 1.2% since the week of November 29, 2025.

The insured unemployment rate varied greatly across individual states and territories. In the week ending May 2, the highest unemployment rates were in New Jersey (2.17%) and Washington (2.11%). The lowest rates were in Florida and South Dakota (both 0.30%), Louisiana (0.32%), Alabama (0.35%), Arkansas (0.37%), North Carolina (0.38%), Tennessee (0.47%) and Iowa, Kansas, Virginia and Virgin Islands (all 0.48%). Rates in other notable states include California (1.97%), New York (1.61%), Illinois (1.51%), Pennsylvania (1.26%), and Texas (1.01%). These state data are not seasonally adjusted.

Data on weekly unemployment claims are from the Department of Labor itself, not the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They begin in 1967 and are contained in Haver’s **WEEKLY** database and summarized monthly in **USECON**. Data for individual states are in **REGIONW** back to December 1986.



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- New claims declined by 3,000 to 209,000 in the week ending May 16.
- Continuing claims rose by 6,000 to 1.782 million.
- The insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2% in the week of May 9.


U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Declined in the Week of May 16

Sandy Batten

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Real GDP growth was revised down to 1.6% q/q saar in the second estimate from 2.0% in the advance report. The Action Economics Forecast Survey looked for a slight upward revision to 2.1%. There was little revision to the major components with almost all of the total revision accounted for by a larger decline in inventory investment than previously estimated, which lowered the inventory contribution to total GDP growth to 0.1%-point from 0.4%-point previously.

Growth of personal consumption expenditures was revised down slightly to 1.4% q/q saar from 1.6% previously. Nonresidential fixed investment growth was revised down to 10.1% from 10.4%, mostly reflecting slightly slower growth in spending on intellectual property products, while the decline in residential investment was revised to -6.2% from -8.0%. Government spending growth was unrevised at 4.4%. However, the Q1 rebound still fell well short of reversing the 5.6% quarterly plunge in government spending in Q4 that reflected the more than one-month shutdown of the federal government. Export growth was revised up marginally while import growth was revised slower marginally. The result was a slightly smaller trade deficit than previously estimated but the revision was too small to change the contribution to overall growth from net exports.

Private domestic demand growth (final sales to private domestic purchasers, a favored gauge of demand by the Federal Reserve) was revised down to 2.4% q/q saar from 2.5% in the advance report. However, this pace is still solid and meaningfully above the economy’s potential growth rate.

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This report contained the first look at Q1 corporate profits. Their growth slowed to 0.9% q/q not annualized, but this was on top of a 6.0% quarterly jump in Q4 2025 and a 4.5% quarterly rise in Q3. Profits of domestic industries climbed 2.7% q/q in Q1 following outsized increases of 4.0% in Q4 and 3.6% in Q3. Rest of world profits slumped in Q1, falling 9.8% q/q, but this was after a 20.2% surge in Q4 and a 10.7% jump in Q3. Strong profit growth continues to underpin solid gains in equity prices.

With the release of corporate profits for Q1, it was possible to construct gross domestic income. Total production in the economy can be calculated either by adding up the expenditures across the economy and adjusting for imports and changes in inventories or by summing up the income generated by production. The former is GDP; the latter is gross domestic income (GDI). GDI rose 0.9% q/q saar in Q1, somewhat slower than GDP. Over the past year, GDP has risen 2.6% y/y while GDI is up 2.2%.

The GDP data can be found in Haver’s **USECON** and **USNA** databases. **USNA** contains virtually all of the Bureau of Economic Analysis detail in the national accounts. The Action Economics consensus estimates can be found in **AS1REPNA**.

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- Q1 GDP growth was unexpectedly revised down to 1.6% saar from 2.0% in the advance estimate.
- There was little revision to the major expenditure components with almost all of the total downward revision due to a larger decline in inventories than previously estimated.
- Domestic demand growth was revised down a tick but was still a solid, above-trend 2.4%.
- This report provided the first look at Q1 corporate profits. Profit growth slowed to 0.9% q/q not annualized but this was on top of a 10.7% jump in the previous two quarters.

U.S. Q1 2026 Real GDP Growth Revised Down; Corporate Profits Slowed

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