Haver’s data services are provided through the DLX platform; delivering tools for data management, visualization, modeling and publishing. DLX is designed to increase productivity and integrates with Excel, PowerPoint, and major statistical software packages; MatLab, R, Python, SAS, E-views and Stata. DLX component application DLXVG3 offers precision graphics, publishing, analytic tools, and easy navigation for all Haver databases.

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Chart and compare multiple data series with accompanying data table of values

Advanced functions (growth rates, moving averages, aggregation, seasonal adjustment)

Analytical tools (cycle charts, scatterplots, trend lines, and recession shading)

Complete graph customization (axis scaling, sizing, formatting, styles)

Excel and PowerPoint direct export and complete integration (dynamic spreadsheets and presentations update on a click)

DLXVG3

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DLX Add-ins for all versions of Excel provide instant data updates of entire workbooks

Use DLXVG3 to locate data series codes from within any file, easily creating new spreadsheets for analysis

Edit date ranges, archive data, apply functions

Excel Spreadsheet Add-ins

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Haver offers timely, accurate, and professionally supported data via an update service, meeting the strictest demands of the institutional research community

AutoUpdate provides fast and reliable data updates within seconds of source releases

Timer service runs continuously on an hourly basis when DLX is running

Manual updates offer clients the independence to update data retrievals on any desired schedule

All database updates retrieve only the data series that have changed and send only the data points that have been updated; including revisions

Timely Updates

DLX software tools to convert data into many different formats needed for diverse analytical frameworks

Haver supports a DLX API permitting clients to leverage and build processes with DLX data

Database Compatibility

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Data Link Express

Platform Independent site delivering DLX Databases across any workstation or device.

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HaverView

[Matlab](http://matlab.com) by The MathWorks lets you access, visualize, and analyze historic time-series data to identify patterns or uncover complex relationships. From within a single environment you can:

- Access data from multiple sources including files, spreadsheets, databases, data providers, and the Web
- Store data in financial time-series objects to simplify data management, data transformation, missing-data handling, and date-math calculations
- Perform technical analysis with moving averages, oscillators, stochastics, and indices
- Create custom analysis routines and visualizations or animations to capture, present, and share your analysis processes and discoveries
- Customize your analysis environment with advanced functionality from signal processing, statistics, or econometrics

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MATLAB

[Stata Data Analysis and Statistical Software](https://www.stata.com) by StataCorp LP is an integrated statistical package designed for researchers of all disciplines. It provides the ability to do data analysis, data management and graphics and has features such as multiple imputation, factor variables, GMM, competing-risks regression, state-space modeling, predictive margins, and more.

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Stata

[SAS](https://www.sas.com) provides an integrated environment for predictive and descriptive modeling, data mining, text analytics, forecasting, optimization, simulation, experimental design and more. From predictive analytics to model deployment and process optimization, SAS provides a range of techniques and processes for the collection, classification, analysis and interpretation of data to reveal patterns, anomalies, key variables and relationships, leading ultimately to new insights and better answers faster.

[SASEHAVR](http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/etsug/67525/HTML/default/viewer.htm#etsug_sasehavr_gettingstarted01.htm) is a seamless interface between Haver and SAS data processing that enables SAS users to read economic and financial time series data that reside in a Haver Analytics DLX (Data Link Express) database. [SASEHAVR](http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/etsug/67525/HTML/default/viewer.htm#etsug_sasehavr_gettingstarted01.htm) requires both SAS/ETS and Base SAS Software.

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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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RATS

Session 1: Bootcamp Part 1

Visualization with GGPlot2 and data analysis

Session 2: Bootcamp Part 2

Session 3: Univariate Models Part 1

Session 4: Univariate Models Part 2

Session 5: Vector Autoregressions

Session 6: Cointegration and error-correction models

A popular open source option for statistical computing and graphics that is available on many UNIX platforms, Windows and MacOS

Estimating, evaluating, and forecasting ARIMA models

Understanding the concept of non-stationarity and testing for unit roots

Estimating autoregressions, granger causality tests, and impulse response functions

Understanding the concept of cointegration and testing using the Enger-Granger test

Estimating and forecasting with vector error correction models

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Teaches econometrics and forecasting at the University of Colorado Denver. He has over 15 years of econometric experience in both the private and public sector.

Daniel L. Jerrett, Ph.D.

Abdel M. Zellou, Ph.D.

Bootcamp and Econometric Tools 1 & 2

Econometrics Training: Applied Time Series in R

Session 5: Multivariate Models Part 1

Session 6: Multivariate Models Part 2

Haver partners with SmartMacro Labs to offer a two week immersive online course introducing participants to the power of the Python programming language. This applied hands-on training develops statistical economics skills with a concentration on economics and finance.

Gain proficiency in building modern time-series models in Python through real-world applications. Designed for professionals in both the public and private sector, the course does not require prior experience, assuming only that participants have a basic understanding of regression and statistical concepts.

Proficiency working in Jupyter notebooks and the Python environment

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Remote Training: Applied Time Series in Python

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.

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 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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- 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

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.

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

Robert Brusca

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CPI inflation in the UK eased sharply in April with the headline making no change at all and the core rising by only 0.1%. The headline is a marked departures from March when the UK CPI rose by 0.4% as the core put in another good month, rising 0.1%. Sequentially, UK inflation as measured by the CPIH has been relatively stable with a 3% growth rate over 12 months, a 3% annual rate over three-months, and a gain of 2.9% annualized over six-months; it's about as steady as you can get. The core (CPH excluding energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco) rises 2.9% over 12 months, eases to a 2.7% annual rate over six-months, then rises at a 2% annual rate over three-months.

**Low inflation amid a global surge in oil prices**
The core is showing significant temperance and sequential improvement. Meanwhile, globally oil prices are flaring sharply, and most countries are seeing inflation rates rise. An energy cap in the UK is holding energy costs down and helping to keep the headline rate of inflation low. However, the cap can only work its magic for so long, eventually persisting strength in oil prices are going to show through into the headline index.

**Acceleration tendencies abate**
In April, 50% of the categories of the CPI H showed acceleration compared to March; in March only 41% had accelerated compared to February; in February only 41% had accelerated compared to January. On a broad basis, inflation acceleration has been substantially neutralized or controlled. Sequential calculations show that over three-months acceleration has occurred in 50% of the categories, over six-months and 12-months, however, acceleration has occurred in only 33% of the categories, indicating that there has been a relatively long-lived environment of inflation temperance.

**Still Too high**
However, inflation in the UK remains relatively high. The HICP measure, which is comparable to the measures used on the continent by the European Central Bank, has a 69th-percentile standing when ranked on data back to 2000. The CPIH has a 75.1-percentile standing and the CPIH-core has an 81.5 percentile standing. These are based on year-over-year percent changes and the two inflation gauges.

Inflation rankings tell us that inflation in the UK is still relatively high compared to how it has performed over the last 25 years. However, what's most important is inflation relative to the target of 2%. At 3% the inflation rate is too high and at 2.9% the core inflation rate is too-high as well. However, we see the shorter-term inflation rates particularly for the core have come down. The core rate over three-months has even reached the 2% mark, which is both encouraging and surprising. The UK economy has been performing poorly. The Bank of England will certainly be making its next monetary policy decision based on the performance of inflation with some assessment and how the trend is faring as well as with reference to economic performance which has been marginal. We will have to see how the BOE looks at the effect of the energy cap. At the same time there's a great deal of political turmoil in the UK to pair with difficult global geopolitical conditions


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United Kingdom

UK CPIH Eases Amid Global Oil Price Shock 

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Mortgage applications declined 2.3% w/w (+18.9% y/y) in the week ending May 15, after rising 1.7% w/w (15.5% y/y) in the week ending May 8, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Applications for loans to purchase a house dropped 4.1% w/w (+8.0% y/y) in the May 15 week, following a rise of 3.9% w/w (6.7% y/y) in the May 8 week.  Applications for loan refinancing edged down 0.1% w/w (+34.8% y/y) in the latest week after declining 0.8% w/w (+28.3% y/y) in the May 8 week.

The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan rose 9bps to 6.73% in the week ending May 15 from 6.64% in the week ending May 8. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose 12bps to 6.11% in the latest week from 5.99% in the week ending May 8. The 30-year Jumbo rate rose 5bps to 6.69% in the May 15 week from 6.64% in the May 8 week. The rate on a 5-year ARM also rose 5bps to 6.07% in the latest week from 6.02% in the week ending May 8.

The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 41.9% of total applications in the week of May 15 from 40.8% in the May 8 week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity rose to 9.6% in the May 15 week from 8.8% in the week ending May 8.

The average size of a mortgage loan declined 1.4% w/w (+3.5% y/y) to $403,200 in the week ending May 15, after retrenching 0.5% w/w (+2.9% y/y) to $409,000 in the week ending May 8. The average size of a purchase loan edged down 0.1% w/w (+4.6% y/y) to $466,900 in the latest week from $467,200 in the May 8 week. The average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage declined 3.0% w/w (+8.1% y/y) to $314,700 in the May 15 week from $324,500 in the May 8 week. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association Survey covers 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100. The figures for weekly mortgage applications and interest rates are available in Haver’s **SURVEYS** database.


- Both applications for loans to purchase and applications for loan refinancing declined in the latest week.
- Interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans rose 9bps to 6.73%. 
- Average loan size declined.


U.S. Mortgage Applications dropped in the May 15 Week 

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Latest Releases

Economy in Brief

Housing Starts: Hints of Improvement

Charts of the Week: Surprise, Surprise

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

UK CPIH Eases Amid Global Oil Price Shock

U.S. Mortgage Applications dropped in the May 15 Week