Written by Steven Hansen January 2014 wholesale sales and inventories data was soft. This data series is very noisy, and has been on a roller coaster of one good month / one bad month. The three month rolling averages for sales is decelerating.
Author Archives: Steven Hansen
Stratfor: Ukraine’s Increasing Polarization and the Western Challenge
By Eugene Chausovsky Just days before the Ukrainian crisis broke out, I took an overnight train to Kiev from Sevastopol in Crimea. Three mechanics in their 30s on their way to jobs in Estonia shared my compartment. All ethnic Russians born and raised in Sevastopol, they have made the trip to the Baltic states for the …
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February 2014 Conference Board Employment Index Strengthens but Decelerates
Written by Steven Hansen The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index for February 2014 – which forecasts employment for the next 6 months – strengthened. What the author’s of this index are not telling you is that the growth rate of this index is decelerating.
January 2014 Consumer Credit: Credit Card Use Up
Written by Steven Hansen Econintersect analysis is that total consumer credit growth decelerated 0.1% month-over-month, and the year-over-year growth is 5.9%. The seasonally adjusted consumer credit headlines are showing a growth of 5.25%. The underlying dynamics are very interesting this month as all the growth can be attributed to student loans – all while student …
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Median Consumer Remains Income Constrained
Written by Steven Hansen Even after the good gains shown for personal consumer income in January 2014, this factor continues to constrain economic expansion.