LAST WEEK

News & Commentary Weekly Highlights:

• Bloomberg Business: A U.S. Recession Just Got a Little More Likely (Friday)
• Wall Street Journal: Fed’s Rate Delay Spurred by Worry Over Low Inflation, Minutes Show (Thursday)
• Forbes: Is Obamacare Good for the Middle Class? (Thursday)
• Wall Street Journal: Once the Biggest Buyer, China Starts Dumping U.S. Government Debt (Wednesday)
• Market Watch: U.S. Jobs Creation Slowing, New Surveys Find (Monday)

 

Top Economic Indicator Highlights:

International Trade Balance (August)

• Trade Deficit: $48.3 billion, M/M change: +13.5%, Y/Y change: +5.2%
• Imports:  $233.4 billion, M/M change: +1.2%, Y/Y change: -2.2%
• Exports: $185.1 billion, M/M change: -2.0%, Y/Y change: -3.8%
• Noteworthy: The U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services widened $6.5 billion from $41.8 billion in July. Bloomberg suggests that a surge in iPhone imports partially caused the trade gap to widen in August, though the drop in exports across the board remains the most significant factor.

 

THIS WEEK

Upcoming Economic Reports & Releases:

Major Indicators

• Treasury Budget (2pm, Tuesday)
• Retail Sales (8:30am, Wednesday)
• Producer Price Index for Final Demand (8:30am, Wednesday)
• Business Inventories (10am, Wednesday)
• Consumer Price Index (8:30am, Thursday)
• Industrial Production (9:15am, Friday)
• Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (10am, Friday)

 

Chart of the Week: