Housing & Economy

Consumer Economics

US disposable personal income increased 0.3% in December, personal consumption expenditures up 0.7%; rise in personal income primarily increases in compensation and personal interest income: BEA
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (01/26)

Euro area household real consumption per capita remained stable in Q3 after slightly increasing by 0.1% in the previous quarter; household real income per capita decreased by 0.3% in Q3 after remaining stable in Q2: Eurostat
Eurostat (01/26)

Household Income / Expenditures

Half of all US renters were cost burdened in 2022, with a record high of 22.4 million households spending over 30% of income on rent and utilities; need for rental assistance has increased amid record homelessness counts and loss of low-rent units: JCHS
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) (01/25)

US homebuyer affordability improved in December as the national median payment applied for decreased to US$2,055 from US$2,137 in November; homebuyer affordability improved as interest rates declined significantly from recent highs: Mortgage Bankers Assn.
Mortgage Bankers Association (01/25)

Employee Compensation & Benefits

Unifor demands Northern Pulp reverse its decision to end pension recall rights for members of Unifor Local 440, recommending the Paper Excellence-owned pulp mill waits until insolvency proceedings are resolved; employment recall rights are still in effect
Unifor (01/26)

UK pensions insurance specialist Rothesay completes £1.4B buy-in for Rexam Pension Plan, securing benefits for 9,790 pensioners and 4,330 deferred members; plan is sponsored by sustainable aluminum packaging supplier Ball
Professional Pensions (01/26)

Employee Well-Being / Satisfaction

Chipotle to provide additional financial wellness and mental well-being support for more than 110,000 employees through a new Employee Assistance Program and enhanced benefits
PR Newswire (01/24)

Labor Scarcity / Skills Shortage

Mexican truckers are being targeted by American firms due to shortage in US, according to IRU; BLS found, although trucker employment fell during 2007-2009 recession, last year it returned to 2003 levels, with almost 3 million truckers registered
CE Noticias Financieras (01/26)

University of Eastern Finland professor highlights need for automation in forestry due to labor shortages, with nearly half of skilled workers being over 50 years old; potential exists for augmented reality, sensors for timber procurement efficiency
Industry Intelligence Inc. (01/26)

GDP

US real GDP up at annual rate of 3.3% in Q4; rise reflects higher consumer spending, exports, state and local spending, nonresidential fixed income investment, federal government spending, private inventory investment, residential fixed investment: BEA
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (01/25)

Leading Indicators & Economic Signals

US international trade deficit in December fell by US$0.9B from November to US$88.5B, as seasonally adjusted wholesale inventories increased 0.4% to US$897.7B, seasonally adjusted retail inventories up 0.8% to US$803.3B: Dept. of Commerce
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (01/25)

Energy Indicators / Energy Costs

US national gas price average rose by one penny to US$3.10 in week ended Jan. 25 and was 2 cents lower month-over-month; gas demand fell to 7.89 million b/d from 8.27 million b/d last week, total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 4.9 million bbl: AAA
American Automobile Association (AAA) (01/25)

US commercial crude oil inventories in week ended Jan. 19 decreased by 9.2 million barrels from the previous week to 420.7 million barrels; inventories are about 5% below the five year average for this time of year: EIA
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (01/24)

Employment Statistics & Trends

US unemployment insurance claims in week ended Jan. 20 increased by 25,000 to 214,000, four-week moving average down by 1,500 to 202,250; total continued weeks claimed for benefits increased by 17,359 to 2.15 million in week ended Jan. 6: Dept. of Labor
U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) (01/25)

Canada's payroll employment decreased by 88,300 or 0.5% in November, led by the public educational services sector which fell 4.3% month-over-month; average weekly earnings increased 0.6% from October to C$1,228: Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (01/25)

Interest Rates

European Central Bank kept its benchmark rate unchanged at a record-high 4%; inflation declined to 2.9% in December from a peak of 10.6% in October 2022
Associated Press (01/25)

US 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.69% as of Jan. 25, up from 6.60% a week ago; 30-year FRM averaged 6.13% a year ago: Freddie Mac
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) (01/25)

Inflation

US stocks mixed; signs of cooling inflation balance out weak Intel guidance
Investing.com (01/26)

Housing Affordability

Median US rental price in December fell 0.4% year-over-year to US$1,713, the eighth straight month of annual price declines; influx of new multifamily apartments exerted downward price pressure on median asking rents: Realtor.com
Realtor.com (01/25)

Mortgages / Home Financing

US mortgage applications increased 3.7% in week ended Jan. 19 from one week earlier; Refinance Index decreased 7.0%, Purchase Index increased 8.0%: Mortgage Bankers Assn
Mortgage Bankers Association (01/24)

New Homes

US sales of new single-family homes in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 664,000, up 8.0% from November and 4.4% annually; median sales price was US$413,200, for-sale inventory was 453,000 at the end of December: Dept. of Commerce
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (01/25)

Residential Construction & Real Estate

Pending US home sales increased 8.3% month-over-month in December to 77.3 on NAR's index, and were 1.3% higher year-over-year; the Midwest, South and West registered annual increases in transactions
National Association of Realtors (NAR) (01/26)

Median US home sale price rose 5.1% annually to US$362,225 in four-week period ended Jan. 21, median asking price of new listings increased 6.5% to US$384,458; new listings increased 2.2%, while total listings decreased 4.0%: Redfin
Redfin Corp. (01/25)

Commercial Construction & Real Estate

Wawa breaks ground on Tallahassee, Florida, location; company plans to debut first wave of stores in the area by early 2025 amid major north Florida expansion
Tallahassee Democrat (01/26)

US construction employment in December increased in 32 states, declined in 15 states and DC and was unchanged in Wyoming, Indiana and Alaska; New Jersey added the most construction jobs over the month, while Ohio saw the largest decline: AGC of America
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC of America) (01/24)

Corporate Management

Nano Dimension renews its limited duration ADS holder rights plan to protect the long-term interests of Nano Dimension and its ADS holders; plan is designed to reduce likelihood that any entity, person or group would gain control over Nano Dimension
Nano Dimension Ltd. (01/26)

Pregis discusses three primary trends that will shape the business environment in 2024--cost management strategies for sustained profitability, the power of customer due diligence in ESG, and embracing the power of information in business
Pregis Corp. (01/26)

Corporate Finance

Noteholder group forms to evaluate options following proposed acquisition of Farfetch by Coupang, citing concerns over value destruction; the group declares a default under Farfetch’s 3.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2027
Business Wire (01/26)

Avantium announces shareholders approval all agenda items at Extraordinary General Meeting, including green light to raise €50M in equity capital; funding will help keep operations capitalized until FDCA Flagship Plant is operating at its full capacity
Benelux Markets (Alternative Disclosure) via PUBT (01/25)

Corporate Economics

HCOB Flash Eurozone PMI in January rose to 47.9 from 47.6 in December, the eighth straight month of falling output; overall contraction of new orders was the smallest since June 2023, helped lift business optimism about the year ahead to eight-month high
S&P Global Inc. (01/24)

S&P Global Flash US Composite PMI registered 52.3 in January, up from 50.9 in December; output growth was led by service providers, as manufacturers continued to see a decline in production amid intensifying supply issues: S&P Global
S&P Global Inc. (01/24)

Small Businesses

DHL Express teams up with Mexican customs to boost global supply chain and support MSMEs; collaboration focuses on regulation, legal compliance, safety and security and trade facilitation to navigate complex procedures to expedite imports and exports
CE NAFTA 2.0 Newswire (Mexico) (01/26)

US-Nigeria Trade Council warns of financial strain to small- and medium-scale enterprises due to the abrupt prohibition of single-use plastic containers by Lagos State Government
Leadership (Abuja, Nigeria) (01/24)

Trade Dispute / Trade War

Indian trade regulators to hold hearing in anti-dumping investigation case of epichlorohydrin from Korea, Thailand and China on Feb. 8, 2024; Meghmani Finechem previously requested investigation, claiming harm to domestic industry
Ingredients South Asia (01/24)

Thousands   |   Latest: May/22

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 12/30/24

Total, Not Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 12/30/24

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 12/30/24

%   |   Latest: Dec/23

%   |   Latest: Dec/23

%   |   Latest: 01/25/24

Real/US$   |   Latest: 01/26/24

Index 1985=100   |   Latest: Dec/23

Leading Indicators

Interactive Chart: Click on legend/key to see full view on your dashboard

Interactive Chart: Click on legend/key to see full view on your dashboard

Sources: Industry Intelligence Inc.,Census Bureau