- Weakness concentrated in transportation and defense.
- Excluding transportation and defense, orders rose a solid 1.3% m/m.
- Core capital goods orders posted 0.3% m/m gain while core shipments edged up.
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
USA| Jan 25 2024U.S. Durable Goods Orders Were Essentially Unchanged in December
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- The headline index increased by 2.2 points but remained negative.
- It has been in negative territory for 18 of the past 20 months.
- The new orders and shipments sub-indexes each increased but remained negative.
- Six-month ahead expectations dipped into negative territory for the first time since last May.
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Imported fuel prices fell 0.3% m/m while nonfuel prices were unchanged.
- For exports, the December decline reflected lower nonag and ag prices.
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- Total inventories declined 0.1% m/m, led by wholesalers.
- Total sales edged up 0.2% m/m.
- Inventory/sales ratio was unchanged in November.
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
USA| Jan 11 2024U.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 2024U.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 2024U.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 2023U.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 2023U.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 2023U.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 2023U.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 2023U.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
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