The numbers: Sales at retailers jumped 1.3% in October, signaling US consumers are still spending plenty of money despite efforts by the Federal Reserve to slow the economy. Retail sales were forecast to rise 1.2% last month, according to economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. That’s the biggest increase in eight months. Receipts rose … Read more
Walt Disney Co. wrapped up its fiscal year with record sales and its best revenue growth in more than 25 years, but executives predicted much slower sales increases in the year ahead while missing expectations for fourth-quarter earnings and sales, sending shares down about 7 %Tuesday afternoon. disney SAY reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of … Read more
The numbers: A key barometer of American factories fell to a 25-month low of 52.8% in July in a sign of creeping weakness in the US economy. The good news? Inflation pressures eased. Tea Institute for Supply Management’s closely followed manufacturing gauge dipped from 53% in June, in no small part due to another decline … Read more
The numbers: A key gauge of US inflation rose a sharp 1% in June, led by higher fuel prices, in a sign that price pressures in the economy are still intense and unlikely to relent quickly. The increase in the so-called personal-consumption price index exceeded Wall Street’s forecast. Economists had predicted a 0.9% advance. A … Read more
“‘Ultimately, this will be a trap.’” — Mike Wilson, chief US equity strategist and CIO, Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson, who correctly called the stock market’s 2022 swoon, isn’t convinced the lows are in after major US indexes scored a big gain following Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision to raise rates by another 75 basis … Read more
As a Savannah-based home builder with more than 40 years of experience, I have seen that every year, entry-level housing is increasingly difficult to build. I am not alone. There are many reasons why builders across the US are unable to build affordably priced homes targeted to the critical first-time home buyer: Rising costs stemming … Read more