Economy in Brief: June 2020

• Job openings fall sharply. • Hiring continued to disappear. • Layoffs remained elevated and quits fall. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate eased to 3.7% during April from 3.8% in March and 4.4% [...]

Germany has just logged trade data for April and the results are dismal to abysmal. The surplus that was €21.4bln in February dropped to €12.8bln in March and plunged to €3.2bln in April, an extremely rapid stepdown. This is the [...]

• Wholesale inventory-to-sales ratio jumps to record 1.65 in April. • Inventories increased 0.3% while sales dropped 16.9%. • While inventory swings can have a meaningful impact on GDP, in the current quarter they will be overwhelmed [...]

• Gasoline prices exhibit seasonal strength. • Crude oil prices continue to rise as production is curtailed. • Natural gas prices fall further due to oversupply. As more people took to the road with the spring weather, the price for a [...]

• NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rebounded to 94.4 in May from a seven-year low in April. • Eight out of ten components rose in May. • Respondents are optimistic about future business conditions and expect the recession to be [...]

The National Association for Business Economics expects 3.6% growth in real GDP during 2021. This follows a record recession in 2020, when GDP is expected to contract 5.9%. Quarterly growth is expected to average 4.8% next year after [...]

In his Viewpoint commentary, Joseph Carson said the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) "failed to live up to its mandate as it published two employment reports for April and May filled with distorted and corrupt data". He notes that [...]

In his Viewpoint commentary, Joseph Carson said the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) "failed to live up to its mandate as it published two employment reports for April and May filled with distorted and corrupt data". He notes that [...]