Archive for March 2016

Friday’s employment numbers showed 242,000 net new jobs and cumulative upward revisions of 30,000 for prior months. The labor force participation rate hit 62.9%, a level not exceeded since 3/14, and the unemployment rate was unchanged as discouraged workers keep returning to work. While average hourly pay fell three cents, it’s probably an underestimate. Full-time…

The Friday File: The cheapest gasoline in the world is in Venezuela where it costs just 6 cents/gallon, Kuwait is next at 82 cents/gallon, followed by Saudi Arabia at 91 cents/gallon, and Turkmenistan at $1.08/gallon. The US is 20th cheapest out of 177 nations at $1.98/gallon. The median country price is $3.58/gallon. The costliest gas;…

If middle-class is defined as those earning between two-thirds and twice the national median income, in 2015 the 120.8 million middle-class adults were, for the first time, exceeded by the 121.3 million lower- and upper-income adults. In 1971, 61% of adults were middle-class, in 1989 it was 59%, in 1991 it was 56%, in 2001…

February auto sales hit an annualized rate of 17.5 million, a 16-year February high and are up 6.9% from 2/14. January construction spending rose 1.5% M-o-M and 10.4% Y-o-Y with residential, non-residential and public spending up 8%, 11% and 13% respectively. Lastly, February manufacturing readings show that while still mildly in recession, manufacturing has been…