Introducing

Sandy Batten

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

• 

  USA| Jan 11 2024

  U.S. CPI Inflation Edges Up in December

  • Headline index rose 0.3% m/m, pushing the y/y rate up to 3.4% from 3.1% in November.
  • About half of monthly increase due to 0.5% m/m increase in shelter prices.
  • Core index also rose 0.3% m/m with the y/y rate slipping to 3.9% from 4.0%.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Jan 05 2024

  U.S. Factory Orders Rebounded in November with Surge in Aircraft

  • Total manufacturing orders rose a larger-than expected 2.6% m/m in November.
  • However, orders excluding nondefense aircraft only edged up 0.1% m/m.
  • Shipments increased 0.5% m/m while inventories edged up 0.1% m/m.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Jan 03 2024

  U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Continued Downtrend in November

  • Openings continued their downtrend but fell only 62,000 in November.
  • Hires fell 363,000, the largest monthly decline since July 2020.
  • Total separations fell 292,000 with quits down 157,000.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Dec 22 2023

  U.S. Personal Income and Spending Post Solid Gains in November

  • A 0.4% m/m gain in income was led by strong wages and salaries.
  • Real personal spending up more than expected but still points to a slowdown in Q4.
  • Headline PCE price index fell in November for he first time since April 2020.
  • Six-month core inflation rate fell below Fed’s 2% target.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Dec 22 2023

  U.S. New Home Sales Unexpectedly Fell Markedly in November

  • Sales slumped 12.2% m/m against an expectation of a small rise.
  • Sales down in the South and the West but up in the Northeast and Midwest.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Dec 20 2023

  U.S. Current Account Deficit Narrowed in Q3

  • Deficit more than $16 billion smaller in Q3 due mostly to a narrowing of the goods deficit.
  • Services surplus widened modestly while primary income surplus narrowed.
  • The overall deficit narrowed to 2.9% of GDP, the lowest since Q1 2020, from 3.2% in Q2.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Dec 14 2023

  U.S. Import and Export Prices Fell in November

  • Decline in import prices due entirely to 5.6% drop in price of imported fuels.
  • For exports, lower nonag prices more than offset higher ag prices.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Dec 14 2023

  U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Unexpectedly Fell

  • Initial claims fell to 202,000 in the week ended December 9.
  • Continuing claims rose, remaining a modest uptrend.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Nov 21 2023

  Chicago Fed National Activity Index Fell in October

  • The monthly index fell to -0.49 in October with the 3-month average falling to -0.22.
  • This indicates that the economy grew slower than its longer-term trend.
  • All four major categories made negative contributions.
  • However, the October value is still well above the -0.70 value that historically has been associated with recession.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Nov 16 2023

  U.S. Philly Fed Manufacturing Index Remains in Negative Territory in November

  • The headline index increased by 3.1 points but remained negative.
  • It has been in negative territory for 16 of the past 18 months.
  • The new orders sub-index fell but remained positive while the shipments sub-index collapsed into negative territory.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Nov 16 2023

  U.S. Unemployment Claims Continued to Climb

  • Weekly claims increased to 231,000 in the week ended November 11, their highest reading since mid-August.
  • Continuing claims also rose further to 1.865 million in the week ended November 4, their highest level since November 27, 2021.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Nov 15 2023

  U.S. Producer Prices Unexpectedly Fell in October, Led by Gasoline

  • The headline PPI fell 0.5% m/m in October, the largest monthly decline since April 2020.
  • Gasoline prices plummeted 15.3% m/m after having risen 25% in the previous two months.
  • The core index edged up a less-than-expected 0.1% m/m.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief