Total housing starts rebounded markedly in January, surging 18.6% m/m (but still down 7.8% y/y) to 1.230 million units at an annual rate after having collapsed 14.0% m/m in December to a slightly downwardly revised 1.037 million units [...]
Introducing
Sandy Batten
in:Our Authors
Sandy Batten has more than 30 years of experience analyzing industrial economies and financial markets and a wide range of experience across the financial services sector, government, and academia. Before joining Haver Analytics, Sandy was a Vice President and Senior Economist at Citibank; Senior Credit Market Analyst at CDC Investment Management, Managing Director at Bear Stearns, and Executive Director at JPMorgan. In 2008, Sandy was named the most accurate US forecaster by the National Association for Business Economics. He is a member of the New York Forecasters Club, NABE, and the American Economic Association. Prior to his time in the financial services sector, Sandy was a Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury, and Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Sandy has taught economics at St. Louis University, Denison University, and Muskingun College. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in a wide range of academic publications. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Richmond and a M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from The Ohio State University.
Publications by Sandy Batten
Global| Mar 08 2019U.S. Housing Starts Rebounded in January
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Mar 08 2019
U.S. Housing Starts Rebounded in January
Total housing starts rebounded markedly in January, surging 18.6% m/m (but still down 7.8% y/y) to 1.230 million units at an annual rate after having collapsed 14.0% m/m in December to a slightly downwardly revised 1.037 million units [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Mar 07 2019
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Edge Down
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 225,000 in the week ended February 23... Continuing claims for unemployment insurance rose to 1.805 million in the February 16 week........... Initial claims for unemployment insurance [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Mar 07 2019
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Edge Down
Initial claims for unemployment insurance edged down to 223,000 in the week ended March 2 from an upwardly revised 226,000 (initially reported as 225,000) in the previous week. The Action Economics Forecast Survey projected 225,000 [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 28 2019
U.S. GDP Growth Slowed in Q4 but was Stronger than Expected
Real gross domestic product growth slowed to 2.6% q/q, saar (3.1% y/y) in the fourth quarter of 2018 following a 3.4% q/q increase in Q3 and a 4.2% q/q jump in Q2. The Action Economics Forecast had looked for a 2.3% q/q rise while the [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 27 2019
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Increase Again as Interest Rates Fall
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index rose 5.3% w/w (0.5% y/y) during the week ended February 22 after having risen 3.6% w/w in the previous week. The increases of the past two weeks [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 26 2019
U.S. FHFA House Price Index Rises in December, but Trend Continues to Slow
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index for house purchases rose 0.3% m/m (5.6% y/y) in December following an unrevised 0.4% m/m (5.8% y/y) increase in November. The slowdown in the y/y rate to 5.6% was a continuation of [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 21 2019
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Tumbles in February
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported manufacturing conditions weakened considerably in February with its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index falling to -4.1 from 17.0 in January. This was the first reading below the [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Feb 01 2019
ISM Factory Sector Index Rebounded in January
After having collapsed 4.5 points in December to 54.3 (the lowest reading since December 2016), the ISM manufacturing index rebounded to 56.6 in January. Expectations were for a further decline to 54.1. Still, the January reading [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 24 2019
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Fell to 50-Year Low
Initial claims for jobless insurance unexpectedly fell to 199,000 in week ended January 19 from a downwardly revised 212,000 in the previous week. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 216,000 claims. This is the lowest [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 24 2019
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Fell to 50-Year Low
Initial claims for jobless insurance unexpectedly fell to 199,000 in week ended January 19 from a downwardly revised 212,000 in the previous week. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 216,000 claims. This is the lowest [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Jan 23 2019
U.S. FHFA House Prices Post Solid Increase in November
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index for house purchases rose 0.3% (5.7% y/y) during October following a 0.2% September rise. The FHFA house price index is a weighted purchase-only index that measures average price [...]
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
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