Introducing

Sandy Batten

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| May 30 2019

  U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Edge Up

  The labor market remains historically quite robust. Initial claims for unemployment insurance edged up 3,000 to 215,000 in week ended May 25, but remain around the lowest level in nearly six decades. The latest reading was in line [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 28 2019

  Texas Factory Sector Falls Further in May

  The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index declined to -5.3 in May from 2.0 in April. This is the third consecutive monthly decline and the lowest [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 28 2019

  Texas Factory Sector Falls Further in May

  The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index declined to -5.3 in May from 2.0 in April. This is the third consecutive monthly decline and the lowest [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 22 2019

  Chart of the Week: U.S. and Greece: 5-Year Treasury Bond Mid Yield

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  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Viewpoints
• Global| May 15 2019

  TT

  Total business inventories increased 0.3% (4.9% year-on-year) during February, after a slightly upwardly-revised 0.9% gain in January. Total business sales edged up 0.1% (2.4% y/y) following a 0.3% rise. The inventory-to-sales (I/S) [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 15 2019

  U.S. Business Inventories Unchanged While Sales Surged in March

  Total business inventories were unchanged (+5.0% y/y) in March after rising 0.3% m/m in February and jumping 0.9% m/m in January. In contrast, total business sales surged 1.6% m/m (3.7% y/y) in March versus a 0.2% m/m increase in [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 09 2019

  U.S. Trade Deficit Widens Slightly in March

  The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened slightly in March to $50.0 billion from $49.3 billion in February. This was spot on expectations of a $50.0 billion deficit from the Action Economics Survey. Exports rose 1.0% m/m [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 09 2019

  U.S. Trade Deficit Widens Slightly in March

  The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened slightly in March to $50.0 billion from $49.3 billion in February. This was spot on expectations of a $50.0 billion deficit from the Action Economics Survey. Exports rose 1.0% m/m [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 03 2019

  U.S. ISM Nonmanufacturing Index Unexpectedly Slipped in April

  The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) slipped to 55.5 in April from 56.1 in March. This was the fourth monthly decline in the past five months but leaves the index still [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 03 2019

  U.S. ISM Nonmanufacturing Index Unexpectedly Slipped in April

  The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) slipped to 55.5 in April from 56.1 in March. This was the fourth monthly decline in the past five months but leaves the index still [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 01 2019

  Tt

  The value of construction put-in-place increased 1.0% (1.1% y/y) during February.......... The construction spending figures, some of which date back to 1946, are in Haver's USECON database. The expectations reading can be found in [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• Global| May 01 2019

  U.S. Construction Spending Fell in March

  The value of construction put-in-place decreased 0.9% m/m (-0.8% y/y) in March following a 0.7% m/m increase (revised down from +1.0%) in February. The Action Economics Forecast Survey had expected a 0.1% m/m rise. The y/y decline in [...]

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief