Economic Reports
United States FOMC Minutes:
In the United States, the authority to set interest rates is divided between the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (Board) and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The Board decides on changes in discount rates after recommendations submitted by one or more of the regional Federal Reserve Banks. The FOMC decides on open market operations, including the desired levels of central bank money or the desired federal funds market rate.
United States Inflation Rate:
In the United States, unadjusted Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers is based on the prices of a market basket of: food (14 percent of total weight), energy (9.3 percent), commodities less food and energy commodities (19.4 percent) and services less energy services (57.3 percent). The last category is divided by: shelter (32.1 percent), medical care services (5.8 percent) and transportation services (5.5 percent).
United States Core Inflation Rate:
In the United States, the core inflation rate tracks changes in prices that consumers pay for a basket of goods which excludes volatile food and fuel costs.
United States Non-Farm Payrolls:
Non-farm payrolls is an employment report released monthly, usually on the first Friday of every month, and heavily affects the US dollar, the bond market and the stock market. Current Employment Statistics (CES) program from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, surveys about 141,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 486,000 individual work sites, in order to provide detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on non-farm payrolls.
United States ADP Employment Change
The ADP National Employment Report measures levels of non-farm private employment. The Report is based on the actual payroll data from about 24 million employees processed by The Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
United States Job Openings
In the United States, job openings refer to all positions that are open (not filled) on the last business day of the month. Job openings are part of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The survey collects data from around 16400 non-farm establishments including retailers and manufacturers, as well as federal, state, and local government entities in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The JOLTS assesses the unmet demand for labor in the U.S. labor market and gained attention in 2014 as favorite labor market indicator of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
United States Initial Jobless Claims
Initial jobless claims is the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits. The jobless claims numbers have a big impact in financial markets because, unlike continued claims data which measures the number of persons claiming unemployment benefits, initial jobless claims measures new and emerging unemployment.
GDP Growth Rate:
On the expenditure side, personal consumption expenditures account for 68 percent of total GDP out of which purchases of goods constitute 23 percent and services 45 percent. Private investment accounts for 16 percent of GDP and government consumption and investment for 18 percent. As the value of goods exported (13.5 percent) is lower than the value of goods imported (16.5 percent), net exports subtract 3 percent from the total GDP value.
Personal Income:
Personal Income refers to the income that persons receive in return for their provision of labor, land, and capital used in current production, plus current transfer receipts less contributions for government social insurance.
Personal Spending:
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) is the primary measure of consumer spending on goods and services in the U.S. economy. It accounts for about two-thirds of domestic final spending, and thus it is the primary engine that drives future economic growth. PCE shows how much of the income earned by households is being spent on current consumption as opposed to how much is being saved for future consumption. PCE also provides a comprehensive measure of types of goods and services that are purchased by households. Thus, for example, it shows the portion of spending that is accounted for by discretionary items, such as motor vehicles, or the adjustments that consumers make to changes in prices, such as a sharp run-up in gasoline prices.
New Home Sales
A sale of the new house occurs with the signing of a sales contract or the acceptance of a deposit. The house can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction, or already completed. New home sales account for about 10 percent of the US housing market. New single-family home sales are extremely volatile month-to-month and preliminary figures are subject to large revisions because they are mostly drawn from building permits data.
Durable Goods Orders:
Durable Goods Orders refer to new orders placed with manufacturers for delivery of hard goods which are meant to last at least three years.
United States ISM Non Manufacturing PMI:
The Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business® is based on data compiled from purchasing and supply executives nationwide. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month. For each of the indicators measured (Business Activity, New Orders, Backlog of Orders, New Export Orders, Inventory Change, Inventory Sentiment, Imports, Prices, Employment and Supplier Deliveries) this report shows the percentage reporting each response, and the diffusion index. An index reading above 50 percent indicates that the non-manufacturing economy in that index is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally declining. Orders to the service producers make up about 90 percent of the US economy.
United States Composite PMI
In the United States, Market Composite PMI Output Index tracks business trends across both manufacturing and service sectors (60 percent from the manufacturing sector and 40 percent from the services sector). The index is based on data collected from a representative panel of over 1,000 companies and follows variables such as sales, new orders, employment, inventories and prices. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in business activity while below 50 points to contraction.
United States Services PMI
Market US Services PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) is based on data collected from a representative panel of over 400 private sector companies covering transport and communication, financial intermediaries, business and personal services, computing & IT and hotels and restaurants. The index tracks variables such as sales, employment, inventories and prices. A reading above 50 indicates that the services sector is generally expanding; below 50 indicates that it is generally declining.
United States Manufacturing PMI
In the United States, the Market Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index measures the performance of the manufacturing sector and is derived from a survey of 600 industrial companies. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index is based on five individual indexes with the following weights: New Orders (30 percent), Output (25 percent), Employment (20 percent), Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15 percent) and Stock of Items Purchased (10 percent), with the Delivery Times index inverted so that it moves in a comparable direction. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion of the manufacturing sector compared to the previous month; below 50 represents a contraction; while 50 indicates no change.
U.S. Retail Sales:
Retail sales report in the US provides aggregated measure of sales of retail goods and services over a period of a month. There are thirteen major types of retailers: Motor vehicle & parts dealers (around 20 percent of total sales), Food & beverage stores (13%), General merchandise stores (12.5%), Food services & drinking places (11%), Gasoline stations (10%), Non-store retailers (9.2%), Building material & garden dealers (6%), Health & personal care stores (6%), Clothing & clothing accessories stores (5%), Miscellaneous store retailers (2.3%), Furniture stores (2%), Electronics & appliance stores (2%) and Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores (1.7%).
United States Consumer Sentiment:
The Index of Consumer Expectations focuses on three areas: how consumers view prospects for their own financial situation, how they view prospects for the general economy over the near term, and their view of prospects for the economy over the long term. Each monthly survey contains approximately 50 core questions, each of which tracks a different aspect of consumer attitudes and expectations. The samples for the Surveys of Consumers are statistically designed to be representative of all American households, excluding those in Alaska and Hawaii. Each month, a minimum of 500 interviews are conducted by telephone.
Producer Price Inflation (PPI):
In the United States, the Producer Price Inflation MoM for final demand measures month-over-month changes in the price for commodities sold for personal consumption, capital investment, government, and export. It is composed of six main price indexes: final demand goods (33 percent of the total weight), which includes food and energy; final demand trade services (20 percent); final demand transportation and warehousing services (4 percent); final demand services less trade, transportation, and warehousing (41 percent); final demand construction (2 percent); and overall final demand.
U.S. Existing Home Sales:
In the United States, Existing Home Sales occur when the mortgages are closed. Mortgage closing usually takes place 30-60 days after the sales contract is closed.
Building Permits:
Building Permits refer to the approvals given by local jurisdictions before the construction of a new or existing building can legally occur. Not all areas of the United States require a permit for construction.
Housing Starts:
Housing Starts refer to the number of new residential construction projects that have begun during any particular month. Estimates of housing starts include units in structures being totally rebuilt on an existing foundation.