What do pollen and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) have in common? Answer; both are hitting new highs. This week’s U.S. economic data was led by the largest month monthly increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since September 2005. Local pollen counts have been tracked by the Houston Health Department for about a decade (parts per cubic meter) and last Thursday hit 12,477ppcm, which is the highest recorded in the time they have been tracking. For perspective anything over 1,500 is considered extremely heavy. Meanwhile, the squeeze on households' from skyrocketing prices for necessities is as real as our inflamed sinuses and was evident in this week's retail sales data. However, underneath the surface there are signs that pandemic-related inflation is beginning to ease. See this week’s attached Commentary for more detail (on economics…not pollen counts).
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 12 April 2024
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Apr 18, 2024
The March consumer price data dominated the economic discussion this week and are the latest to support that the timing and degree of Fed easing will be later and smaller than many of us previously expected.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 22 October 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Oct 25, 2021
Restrictions from a renewed COVID outbreak in China, regulatory changes weighing on local financial markets and a potential collapse of Evergrande have all contributed to a slowdown in Chinese economic activity.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 08 April 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Apr 11, 2022
Wednesday\'s release of the FOMC minutes stirred things up as comments showed committee members agreeing that elevated inflation and the tight labor market at present warrant balance sheet reduction to begin soon.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 15 January 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jan 18, 2021
Retail sales fell 0.7% in December, the third straight monthly decline. Sales are still up 2.9% over the year, however.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 17 January 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jan 18, 2020
Mild weather helped housing starts surge 16.9% in December to a 1.61 million-unit pace, the highest in 13 years. Manufacturing surveys from the New York Fed and Philadelphia Fed both rose more than expected in December.
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? - 15 November 2019
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 16, 2019
Retail sales beat expectations and rose 0.3% in October, reflecting the ongoing strength of the consumer. Control group sales, a major input to GDP, also increased 0.3%.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 24 July 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jul 25, 2020
Initial jobless claims rose to just over 1.4 million for the week ending July 18. Continuing claims fell to about 16.2 million. Initial claims edging higher suggests that the resurgence of COVID-19 may be taking a toll on the labor market recovery.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 22 November 2019
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 23, 2019
Minutes from the October FOMC meeting indicated the Fed is content to remain on the sidelines for the rest of this year as the looser financial conditions resulting from rate cuts at three consecutive meetings feed through to the economy.
May 2020 Economy at a Glance
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / May 19, 2020
The U.S. is in a severe recession caused by the sudden shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the lock down began, the nation has lost 21.4 million jobs.
