Lower unemployment has prompted consumers to spend more than they earn. Consumer credit outstanding matched expectations and gained another $14.6B during December. That followed a downwardly revised $15.9B November increase, according [...]
Introducing
Tom Moeller
in:Our Authors
Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
Publications by Tom Moeller
Global| Feb 07 2013U.S. Consumers Continue To Borrow Aggressively
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 07 2013
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Trend Lower
The rate of improvement in the labor market is rising. Initial claims for unemployment insurance notched down to 366,000 (-1.3% y/y) during the week ended February 2 versus a revised 371,000 a week earlier, reported initially as [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 07 2013
U.S. Worker Productivity Declines and Drives Up Costs
Nonfarm business sector productivity for Q4'12 declined 2.0% (SAAR, +0.6% y/y) and reversed virtually all of the 3.2% increase during Q3, revised from 2.9%. A 1.0% decline has been expected. That left the 1.0% gain for all of last [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 06 2013
FIBER: Industrial Commodity Price Increases Are Broad-based
The factory sector is in a recovery mode. The latest industrial commodity price index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) rose yesterday to its highest level since June 2011. Tuesday's reading [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 06 2013
U.S. Mortgage Applications Recover; Interest Rates Move Higher
The Mortgage Bankers Association index of total mortgage applications rose 3.4% (4.6% y/y) last week and recovered some of the prior week's decline. Home purchase applications rose 2.2% (18.6% y/y) to the highest level since May 2010. [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 05 2013
U.S. Gasoline and Crude Oil Prices Jump
The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline surged 18 cents last week to $3.54 per gallon (1.6% y/y). That followed a 4 cent rise during the prior week. Prices remain down 34 cents per gallon since their September peak. The norm [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 05 2013
U.S. ISM Nonmanufacturing Index Improvement Stalls
The Composite Index for the service and construction sectors from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) matched expectations and slipped to 55.2 last month from a revised 55.7 during December. (Earlier figures were revised due to [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 05 2013
U.S. Gasoline and Crude Oil Prices Jump
The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline surged 18 cents last week to $3.54 per gallon (1.6% y/y). That followed a 4 cent rise during the prior week. Prices remain down 34 cents per gallon since their September peak. The norm [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 05 2013
U.S. Chain Store Sales Rise W/W But Remain Well Below Holiday Peak
The latest report from the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs indicated that consumers continue to spend cautiously. Chain store sales rose 2.4% last week (2.6% y/y) following a 3.2% pullback during all of [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 04 2013
U.S. Factory Orders Surge Led By Durables
Orders to all manufacturers jumped 1.8% (0.7% y/y) to close out the year, following a 0.3% November slip. The rise roughly matched expectations. For all of 2012, an easing of strength in the factory sector was evidenced by the modest [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 04 2013
U.S. Vehicle Sales Back Away From Recent Highs
Now is still a time when auto showrooms are busy, but the buying frenzy has topped off. Unit sales of light motor vehicles during January slipped 0.6% m/m (9.4% y/y) to 15.29M (SAAR) according to the Autodata Corporation. That was the [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 01 2013
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Improves Slightly
The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for all of January rose to 73.8 (-1.6% y/y) from 72.9 in December. The figure was higher than the mid-month reading of 71.3 but still was down sharply from the November high of [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
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