U.S. - Slow Start to 2021
- The manufacturing sector is showing a great deal of resilience, with the ISM Manufacturing survey exceeding expectations, at 60.7, and factory orders remaining strong.
- The service sector is also showing a great deal of strength, although activity has clearly slowed in high-contact parts of the economy due to renewed operating restrictions.
- Nonfarm employment declined by 140,000 jobs in December. Private payrolls fell less, dropping by 95,000. Most of the drop was in the leisure & hospitality sector. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%.
Global - U.K. Enters New Lockdown
- On Monday morning, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new nationwide lockdown in an effort to contain the spread of COVID. With the U.K. economy already struggling to gather momentum amid already imposed restrictions and Brexit uncertainties, a nationwide lockdown introduces more downside risk to the local economic recovery.
Inflation Eases in Mexico
- CPI inflation has been stubbornly high in Mexico; however, data released this week indicate price pressure may be starting to ease. With inflation now in the central bank’s target range, additional policy rate cuts could be imminent.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 01 December 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Dec 05, 2023
U.S. data released this week indicates the economic expansion remains alive even as inflation continues to slow. The year-ago rates of headline and core PCE inflation were the lowest since March 2021 and April 2021, respectively.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 12 August 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Aug 13, 2022
The FOMC has made it clear that it needs to see inflation slowing on a sustained basis before pivoting from its current stance. The data seems to be going in multiple directions all at once.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 16 September 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Sep 20, 2022
Financial markets reacted in a zig-zag pattern to this week\'s economic data ahead of the next FOMC meeting. Price pressure is still not showing the sustained slowdown the Fed needs before it takes its foot off the throttle of tighter policy.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 10 September 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Sep 13, 2021
Data from the opening weekend of College Football indicates that we will have to endure another season of Nick Saban deification.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 16 October 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Oct 22, 2021
The first economic data released this week in the United States reinforced the theme that labor supply and demand are struggling to come into balance.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 04 September 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Aug 29, 2020
Employers added jobs for the fourth consecutive month in August, bringing the total number of jobs recovered from the virus-related low to 10.5 million.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 23 September 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Sep 22, 2020
European activity is surging. Germany and Italy are leading the way, but France is close behind despite an ongoing rise in cases. The Google data are a bit outdated, but are hard to reconcile with today’s weak Eurozone services PMI figures.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 16 October 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Oct 20, 2020
Data continue to reflect an economy digging itself out of the lockdown-induced slump.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 18 August 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Aug 23, 2023
The FOMC meeting minutes acknowledged the economy\'s resilience and continued to stress the Committee\'s resolve to bring inflation back down toward its 2% goal.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 06 November 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 10, 2020
As of this writing, the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is undecided. Joe Biden, however, appears likely to become president based off of his growing lead in several key states.
