The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Application Index fell 6.4% w/w in the week ending on February 14. This was the first decline in four weeks. Compared to a year ago, applications were up 76.7%. Purchase [...]
Introducing
Sandy Batten
in:Our Authors
Sandy Batten has more than 30 years of experience analyzing industrial economies and financial markets and a wide range of experience across the financial services sector, government, and academia. Before joining Haver Analytics, Sandy was a Vice President and Senior Economist at Citibank; Senior Credit Market Analyst at CDC Investment Management, Managing Director at Bear Stearns, and Executive Director at JPMorgan. In 2008, Sandy was named the most accurate US forecaster by the National Association for Business Economics. He is a member of the New York Forecasters Club, NABE, and the American Economic Association. Prior to his time in the financial services sector, Sandy was a Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury, and Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Sandy has taught economics at St. Louis University, Denison University, and Muskingun College. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in a wide range of academic publications. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Richmond and a M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from The Ohio State University.
Publications by Sandy Batten
Global| Feb 19 2020U.S. Mortgage Applications Retreat
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 14 2020
U.S. Import Prices Unchanged in January while Export Prices Surge
• Import prices were unchanged in January as a 2.2% m/m drop in fuel prices offset a modest rise in nonfuel prices. • In contrast, export prices unexpectedly surged 0.7% m/m, the largest monthly increase since last March, led by a [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 14 2020
U.S. Import Prices Unchanged in January while Export Prices Surge
• Import prices were unchanged in January as a 2.2% m/m drop in fuel prices offset a modest rise in nonfuel prices. • In contrast, export prices unexpectedly surged 0.7% m/m, the largest monthly increase since last March, led by a [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 07 2020
Wholesale Inventories and Sales Fall in December
Wholesale inventories edged down 0.2% m/m (+2.1% y/y) in December after an upwardly revised 0.1% m/m rise in November (initially -0.1% m/m). The Informa Global Markets Survey anticipated a 0.1% decline in December. For all of Q4, [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 06 2020
TT
Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined 7,000 to 216,000 during the week ended January 25.. Continuing claims for unemployment insurance in the week ended January 18 declined 44,000 to 1.703 million...... Data on weekly [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 30 2020
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Fall
Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined 7,000 to 216,000 during the week ended January 25. Claims were down 11.5% from a year ago. The previous week's figure was revised up to 223,000 from 211,000. The Action Economics [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 28 2020
U.S. Energy Prices Fall Again
Retail gasoline prices fell to $2.51 per gallon (+11.1% y/y) in the week ended January 27 from $2.54 per gallon in the previous week. This was the third consecutive weekly decline and the lowest price since the week ended March 11, [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 28 2020
TT
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index eased slightly in December, by 0.2% to 126.5........ The Consumer Confidence data are available in Haver's CBDB database. The total indexes appear in USECON, and the market expectations [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 28 2020
U.S. Consumer Confidence Stronger than Expected in January
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose a solid 3.4 points (2.7% m/m, 8.1% y/y) to 131.6 (1985=100) in January from an upwardly revised 128.2 in December (initially reported as 126.5). The Action Economics Forecast [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 28 2020
U.S. Energy Prices Fall Again
Retail gasoline prices fell to $2.51 per gallon (+11.1% y/y) in the week ended January 27 from $2.54 per gallon in the previous week. This was the third consecutive weekly decline and the lowest price since the week ended March 11, [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 17 2020
U.S. Housing Affordability Edged Up in November
The National Association of Realtors reported that its Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index edged up 0.3% m/m (13.9% y/y) to 163.8 in November from 163.3 in October. This was the fifth monthly increase in the past six [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 15 2020
U.S. Mortgage Applications Surge on Lower Rates
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Index jumped 30.2% w/w (49.0% y/y) in the week ending January 10 on top of a 13.5% w/w rise in the previous week. Applications to refinance a loan surged 42.7% w/w [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
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