Retail Sales

Was That The Bottom?

Mar 17, 2025 3 min read paid

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq might have bottomed on Thursday, but we doubt it for reasons we get into below. Both indexes rallied nicely on Friday and today. That action jibes with the extremely bearish sentiment readings of the bull/bear ratios compiled by Investors Intelligence and AAII. Last week, the former was down to 0.80, the lowest since the 2022 bear market, and the latter

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

ECONOMIC WEEK: March 17-21

Mar 16, 2025 3 min read paid

In the week ahead, lots of economic data will be packed into the first two days, followed by the FOMC meeting decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference on Wednesday. The FOMC is widely expected to hold rates steady at 4.25%-4.50%, though the tone of Powell's presser may depend on how February's batch of economic indicators released on Monday and

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

US Economy: Another Mostly Pretty Picture

Jan 16, 2025 4 min read

Today's batch of December economic indicators in the US has mostly eased any downside concerns about the labor market, consumers, and the economy overall. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracking model is now showing Q4-2024 real GDP growth of 3.0% (saar), driven by a 3.7% increase in consumer spending on goods (chart). The latter was revised up from 3.3% after retail sales was released

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Still Betting on US Consumers

Dec 17, 2024 3 min read paid

Consumer spending rose again in November, with real retail sales rising more than 3.0% y/y (chart). Rising real labor and nonlabor incomes, plus a strong wealth effect from record highs in stock and home prices, have boosted spending for the past two years. The GOP election sweep also means the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will likely be extended in full, and there's talk in

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

CALENDAR: The Economic Week Ahead (Dec. 16-20)

Dec 15, 2024 3 min read paid

The main focus of the economic week ahead is the FOMC's interest-rate decision on Wednesday. The most likely outcome will be a 25bps cut of the federal funds rate (FFR) to a target range of 4.25% -4.50%. After a full 100bps of cuts since September 18, we expect Fed Chair Jerome Powell will use his press conference after the FOMC meets to signal that the Fed

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

The Economic Week Ahead: November 11-15

Nov 10, 2024 3 min read paid

The week ahead will provide updates on inflation, consumer spending, and manufacturing. We expect inflation might have stalled in October, interrupting its decline toward the Fed's 2.0% target. We still expect a solid increase in inflation-adjusted incomes last month, which should fuel strong consumer spending. The goods sector likely remained depressed last month, especially as hurricanes and worker strikes weighed on manufacturing hours worked. Here's

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

US Economy Is Hot, Hot, Hot

Oct 17, 2024 3 min read

Today, the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracking model raised Q3's real GDP growth rate from 3.2% to 3.4% (saar) following a roaring September retail sales report (chart). Real consumer spending was revised up from 3.3% to 3.6%! Jobless claims fell despite worker strikes and hurricanes. Manufacturing also held up well notwithstanding Boeing layoffs and bad weather. Today's data further confirm our

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

The Economic Week Ahead: October 14-18

Oct 13, 2024 3 min read paid

The economic week ahead will likely confirm that consumer spending continues to shine, while manufacturing production remains lackluster. Meanwhile, as earnings season kicks off with the S&P 500 at a record high and valuations relatively stretched, the onus will be on company managements to deliver better-than-expected earnings, which should be relatively easy since expectations are low. As earnings surprises turned increasingly negative during the summer, so too did

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Fed Playing With An Economy On Fire?

Sep 17, 2024 2 min read paid

Today, the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracking model raised Q3's real GDP growth rate to 3.0% (saar) from 2.5% following the release of solid retail sales and industrial production reports for August (chart). Leading the way was an upward revision in real consumer spending growth to a whopping 3.7% from 3.5%. The increase in real spending on capital equipment was raised to 11.

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Fed Easing Monetary Policy Into An Economic Boom?

Sep 16, 2024 2 min read paid

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

The Economic Week Ahead: September 16-20

Sep 15, 2024 3 min read paid

The main event this week is the FOMC meeting (Wed). The Fed is widely expected to cut the federal funds rate (FFR), but with a heated debate over whether it will be 25bps or 50bps. Perhaps more important than the size of the first cut will be the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), which will provide Fed officials' updated forecasts for real GDP growth, the unemployment rate, inflation, and

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Consumers Are Still Shopping, Not Dropping

Aug 15, 2024 3 min read paid

This morning's data tsunami showed that the labor market remains in good shape and is fueling consumer spending. The latest data support our view that betting against consumers when jobs are expanding is a bad bet. In addition, cautious guidance by several consumer-related companies during the latest earnings reporting season might have been too cautious. Today on a call with analysts, Walmart's CEO Doug McMillon said,

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

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