News
A First Look at Trump’s Trade Policy
America First Trade Policy.” Among the primary objectives: to “reduce dependence on foreign nations for critical supply chains,” “promote investment and productivity” and “enhance our [n]ation’s industrial and technological advantages.” Key takeaways: The president did not announce new tariffs. His executive order instructs key agencies to begin looking at underlying concerns about unfair or unbalanced trade, specific …
The Regulatory Rollback Begins
imposed a freeze on new and in-process regulations. The freeze pauses any rules from the outgoing Biden administration that have been proposed but not finalized, finalized but not sent to the Federal Register or sent to the Federal Register but not published. The executive order also recommends that agencies delay the effective dates of any …
Multifamily Housing Starts See Sharp Monthly Increase
Building permits fell 0.7% in December and 3.1% over the year. Permits for single-family homes rose 1.6% in December but declined 2.5% over the year. Permits for buildings with five or more units fell 5.8% from November and 5.4% over the year. In December, housing starts jumped 15.8% from November but slipped 4.4% from December […]
Broad Price Increases Fuel Import and Export Price Growth
U.S. import prices advanced 0.1% in December, the same as the previous two months, with both higher fuel and nonfuel prices contributing to the increase. Over the past year, import prices rose 2.2%, the largest year-over-year increase since December 2022. U.S. export prices advanced 0.3% in December, after staying the same in November. Both higher […]
Positive Outlook for Small Business Conditions
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 3.4 points in December to 105.1, the second consecutive month above the 51-year average of 98 and the highest rating since October 2018. Of the 10 components included in the index, seven increased, two decreased and one stayed the same. After declining last month, the Uncertainty Index declined […]
Philadelphia Manufacturing Activity Grows Despite Cost Concerns
In January, Philadelphia’s regional manufacturing activity increased overall. The index for current general business activity jumped from a revised -10.9 to 44.3, the highest reading since April 2021. Around 51% of firms reported increased activity this month, while just 6.6% saw decreases and 40.7% experienced no change. The indexes for new orders and shipments leaped […]
New York Manufacturing Index Drops in January
Manufacturing activity in New York state declined in January, with the headline general business activity index retreating 14.7 points to -12.6. In January, the new orders index decreased to -8.6, falling 12.9 points, while the shipments index fell 10.8 points to -1.7, reflecting modest declines in both orders and shipments. Unfilled orders improved slightly to […]
Intermediate Demand Prices See Mixed Trends
The Producer Price Index for final demand (also known as wholesale prices) increased 0.2% in December, after rising 0.4% in November. In 2024, the final demand index rose 3.3% on an unadjusted basis, which is the largest increase since the year-over-year gain in February 2023 of 4.7%. Prices for final demand excluding foods, energy and […]
Market Expects Steady Rates as Fed Adjusts Inflation Outlook
Consumer prices increased 0.4% over the month and 2.9% over the year in December, accelerating from the 2.7% over-the-year rise in November. Core CPI, which excludes more volatile energy and food prices, edged down to a 3.2% over-the-year increase and rose 0.2% over the month, which is down from the 0.3% monthly gains from the […]
