Interest Rates Archives - Pinnacle Finance

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February 26, 2018

Economic Update – January/February 2018

Since our last update in December data points related to the economy remain positive overall. Employment and GDP Gains Continue Momentum… In January the economy added 200,000 new jobs following up the 148,000 jobs added in December. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1% for the fourth consecutive month. The first estimate of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2017 was 2.6%, down from 3.2% in the third quarter, a mild disappointment as expectations in December were for growth of over 3.0%. However, within the fourth quarter GDP figure consumer spending grew at 3.8% which was the fastest rate of growth […]

March 5, 2019

Economic Update February/March 2019

Continued Strong Job Growth Should Help Drive Home Improvement Industry… In what should be quite beneficial for the home improvement industry job growth in the United States has remained strong. January nonfarm payrolls grew 304,000, higher than the consensus expectation of 165,000, with December adding 222,000. The average monthly gain in 2018 was 223,000. An additional positive is that average hourly earnings for employees increased to 3.2% in January compared to January 2018 reflecting rising pay for employees after many years of stagnant earnings growth. …With Consumer Confidence Bouncing Back… The Conference Board reported that its’ consumer confidence index rose […]

August 26, 2019

Economic Update – July/August 2019

Growth Slowed in Q2 and Q3 Looks Slower as Well… There certainly has been quite a bit of economic turbulence since our last update in the spring. After strong first quarter GDP growth of 3.1% growth slowed in the second quarter to 2.1%, based on the first estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The GDPNow estimate for third quarter growth from the Federal Reserve is 2.2%. Economists’ estimates for Q3 growth range from 1.6% to 2.4%. Slowing Global Growth Leading to Lower Interest Rates… With growth slowing in the US combined with impact from the trade tariff fight with […]