News

February is National Chocolate Lovers Month! This Chocolate Mousse courtesy of the Food Network is a delicious treat for the chocolate lover in all of us. Place 5 1/4 ounces of coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate in a double broiler on a low simmer. Stir chocolate until melted, turn off heat and let stand. Add 14 […]

December’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) showed that headline inflation rose 0.2% for the month, with the year-over-year reading holding steady at 2.6%. Core PCE, the Fed’s preferred method which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also rose by 0.2% in December. The year-over-year reading fell from 3.2% to 2.9%, pushing this important metric below 3% for the first […]

Delight in National Blonde Brownie Day on January 22 with this decadent Chocolate Chip Blondie recipe courtesy of Taste of Home. Yields 3 dozen. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 13×9-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 2 large eggs (lightly beaten […]

Retail Sales rose 0.6% from November to December, beating forecasts and coming in even stronger than the 0.3% gain seen in November. Sales were also up 5.6% when compared to December 2022. What’s the bottom line? Spending at department stores, car dealerships, clothing stores and online boosted sales last month, giving some retailers a strong holiday […]

Housing Starts fell for the first time in four months in December, down 4.3% from November. While single-family Starts also saw a downtick from November, they still had a “solid showing” per the NAHB as they surpassed the million mark (1.027 million) for the second straight month. This reflects the number of single-family homes that would […]

Initial Jobless Claims declined by 16,000 in the latest week, with 187,000 people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time. Not only was this well below expectations, it was also the lowest reading since September 2022. Continuing Claims also fell by 26,000, with 1.806 million people still receiving benefits after filing their initial claim. What’s […]

Confidence among home builders rose for the second straight month in January as falling mortgage rates have encouraged some buyers to resume their home search. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index climbed seven points to 44, and while this is still in contraction territory below the key breakeven level of 50, […]

Existing Home Sales fell 1% from November to December to a 3.78-million-unit annualized pace, coming in below estimates of an unchanged reading per the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Sales were also 6.2% lower than they were in December 2022. What’s the bottom line? This report measured closings on existing homes in December and likely reflects people […]

Inflation rose 0.3% from November to December, per the Consumer Price Index (CPI). CPI also rose from 3.1% to 3.4% on an annual basis, though this is still near the lowest level in almost three years. Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.3% while the annual reading fell from 4% to […]

Sunday, January 21 marks National Granola Bar Day. This homemade version from the Food Network makes for an easy and delicious afternoon snack or breakfast on the go. Yields 48 bars. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 15×10-inch rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix […]

“Home price appreciation continued to push forward in November, despite the new highs in mortgage rates seen over the year,” per CoreLogic’s Chief Economist, Dr. Selma Hepp. Their Home Price Index showed that home prices nationwide rose 0.2% from October to November, hitting a new all-time high for the seventh straight month. Prices were also […]

Initial Jobless Claims declined by 1,000 in the latest week, as 202,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time. Continuing Claims also fell by 34,000, with 1.834 million people still receiving benefits after filing their initial claim.  What’s the bottom line? Initial Jobless Claims are historically lower during the holiday season, as layoffs tend to […]

The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation on the wholesale level, fell 0.1% in December, coming in below the expected 0.1% rise. On an annual basis, PPI rose from an anemic 0.8% to 1%, also lower than expected. Core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was flat for the month with the […]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that there were 216,000 jobs created in December, which is stronger than the 170,000 that were forecasted. However, revisions to October and November removed 71,000 jobs in those months combined. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%. What’s the bottom line? While the headline job growth figure for December appears […]

The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that job openings fell from 8.85 million in October to a less than forecasted 8.79 million in November, which is the lowest level since March of 2021. The hiring rate dropped from 3.7% to 3.5% while the quit rate also declined from 2.3% to 2.2%, […]