Housing & Economy

Consumer Economics

US disposable personal income up 0.3% in April, personal consumption expenditures up 0.9%; monthly changes reflect increase in compensation and personal income receipts on assets that were partly offset by decline in proprietors' income: Dept. of Commerce
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (DOC) (05/27)

University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment posts final May reading of 58.4, down from April's 65.2; falling optimism largely driven by continued negative views on current buying conditions for houses and durables, future outlook for the economy
University of Michigan (05/27)

Household Income/Expenditures

US homebuyer affordability fell in April as the national median payment applied for rose 8.8% to US$1,889 from US$1,736 in March; rapid home-price growth, low inventory and rising mortgage rates slowed purchase applications: Mortgage Bankers Assn.
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) (05/26)

Employee Compensation & Benefits

USPS to hold job fair on June 1 to hire for 50 full-, part-time and seasonal post office positions in Spartanburg counties in South Carolina; pay ranges from US$18.92/hour for city carrier assistants to US$19.06/hour for rural carriers and assistants
Herald-Journal (05/27)

Rail workers in England and Scotland move towards possible strike amid government rail reforms that could affect pay, workloads and job security; government could impose minimum service requirements, which unions see as a denial of the right to strike
The Conversation (05/26)

Labor Scarcity/Skills Shortage

Software-as-a-service vehicle management company Solera joins the Next Generation in Trucking Assn. to help combat driver shortages by creating training programs, raising awareness; company has over 15,000 over-the-road and last-mile trucking customers
PR Newswire (05/26)

GDP

US real GDP in Q1 decreased at annual rate of 1.5%, revised from prior 1.4% estimate; update reflects downward revisions to private inventory investment and residential investment partly offset by an upward revision to consumer spending: Dept. of Commerce
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (DOC) (05/26)

Mexico's economy grew 1.0% at quarterly rate in Q1, above uptick of 0.2% in the previous quarter; growth was up 1.8% from Q1 2021: INEGI
Associated Press (05/25)

Energy Indicators

US commercial crude oil inventories in week ended May 20 decreased by 1.0 million barrels from the previous week to 419.8 million barrels; inventories are about 14% below the five year average for this time of year: EIA
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (05/25)

Employment Statistics & Trends

UK business, professional services optimism fell in quarter to May at fastest pace since November 2020, employment expected to rise at same pace in quarter to August; consumer services' employment up, stronger employment expected in quarter to August: CBI
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (05/27)

Canada's payroll employment rose by 118,100, or 0.7% in March led by gains in Quebec; average weekly earnings increased 0.9% month-over-month to C$1,170 in March: Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (05/26)

Interest Rates

Cox Automotive projects May new-vehicle sales volume to fall 28% from a year ago to 1.14 million units, the lowest level of this year; decrease likely driven by rising interest rates, higher vehicle prices, higher fuel prices, drop in consumer optimism
Cox Automotive Inc. (05/27)

Russia lowered key interest rate from 14% to 11% as inflation slows from more than 20-year highs and economy is about to contract; key rate has now been slashed by cumulative 900 basis points since February, central bank open to further key rate reduction
Cyprus Mail (05/27)

Retail Metrics

Canada's retail sales virtually unchanged at C$60.1B in March, as higher sales at gasoline stations were offset by lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers; retail sales decreased 1.0% in volume terms: Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (05/26)

AutoZone reports fiscal Q3 net income down 0.6% from a year ago at US$592.6M, with net sales up 5.9% to US$3.9B as domestic same store sales grow 2.6% for the quarter; company opened 24 new US stores, with commercial sales growing 26% from a year ago
AutoZone Inc. (05/25)

Inflation

Big Lots swings to Q1 net loss of US$11.1M from net income of US$94.6M last year; net sales fall to US$1.37B from US$1.63B due to 'significant' slowdown in April that resulted in increased markdowns amid spending pressure from higher gas prices, inflation
Big Lots Inc. (05/27)

US retailers face costs due to surplus of merchandise as supply chain disruptions ease, shoppers' behaviors shift amid inflation, high gas prices; Costco's inventories rise 26% for the quarter, Gap's rise 34%, Macy's also reports inventory 'imbalance'
Reuters (05/27)

Mortgages/Home Financing

US 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10% in week ended May 26, down from 5.25% last week; 30-year FRM averaged 2.95% a year ago: Freddie Mac
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) (05/26)

Pending US home sales fell for sixth consecutive month in April, down 3.9% from March to 99.3 on NAR's index, down 9.1% year-over-year; rising mortgage rates increased cost of purchasing a home by more than 25% from year ago
National Association of Realtors (NAR) (05/26)

Residential Construction & Real Estate

Share of US homes for sale with a price drop rose to 19.1% in four-week period ended May 22, the highest level since October 2019 and up from 9.8% year ago; new listings down 0.9% from year ago, pending sales down 5.4%: Redfin
Redfin Corp. (05/26)

Median US single-family square floor area decreased to 2,310 sq. ft. in Q1, reflecting pandemic impact's on residential space; on a one-year moving average, median size of new single-family homes is now 6.3% higher at 2,537 sq. ft.: NAHB
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) (05/25)

Commercial Construction & Real Estate

Magna invests nearly US$6M in Lancaster, Ohio, SUV bucket seat frame plant to add floor above production space; plant opened in 2019 and employs 400 people, with expansion adding 224 jobs
Columbus Dispatch (05/27)

USA Health starts construction on US$20M, 25,000 square-foot ambulatory surgery center in Fairhope, Alabama, with six operating rooms, two procedure rooms, 14 pre-op areas, 13 recovery rooms; Infirmary Health challenging need for center in court
Alabama Media Group (05/27)

Corporate Management

Automotive lidar technology firm Luminar appoints Taner Ozcelik as Executive VP, general manager to oversee product development, R&D, program management, semiconductor subsidiaries; CJ Moore joins Luminar to lead safety, autonomy software program
Business Wire (05/27)

Amazon shareholders at May 25 annual meeting reject resolution that would have required company to report on how much plastic it uses; company says its existing packaging programs have saved more than 1 million tonnes of material since 2015
Seattle Times (05/27)

Corporate Financing

Huhtamaki launches a sustainability-linked bond framework; interest rate or other financial characteristics of a security will change if Huhtamaki fails to meet predefined sustainability performance target for a sustainability performance indicator
GlobeNewswire Europe (05/25)

Premium Brands Holdings announces C$150M financing of convertible unsecured subordinated debentures to fund future acquisitions and for general corporate purposes
Globe Newswire (05/25)

Corporate Economics

Median pay package for CEOs at S&P 500 companies was US$14.5M in 2021, up 17.1% from 2020; increase in packages driven by a sharp rebound in stock prices and profits: Associated Press
Associated Press (05/27)

Small Businesses

Australia-based Sendle becomes first carbon-neutral carrier on the cloud-based Descartes ShipRush platform, which helps small, medium e-commerce and omnichannel retailers automate, scale shipping to customers; carrier offers flat-rate shipping across US
PR Newswire (05/25)

Trade Balance

Exports of paper, paperboard from India jump nearly 80% in fiscal year 2021-2022, reaching record 139.63B Indian rupees; exports of coated paper, paperboard up by 100%, uncoated writing, printing paper by 98%, tissue paper by 75%, kraft paper by 37%: IPMA
Accord Fintech (05/26)

Country Economics

World Economic Forum chief economists expect lower global economic activity, higher inflation, lower wages and greater food insecurity in 2022; risks include greater fragmentation in global economy, unprecedented shifts in supply chains
World Economic Forum (05/25)

Thousands   |   Latest: Apr/22

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 05/21/22

Total, Not Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 05/21/22

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 05/21/22

%   |   Latest: Apr/22

%   |   Latest: Apr/22

%   |   Latest: 05/26/22

Real/US$   |   Latest: 05/27/22

Index 1985=100   |   Latest: Apr/22

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