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| May 05 2023

  U.S. Consumer Credit Picked Up in March

  • Largest increase in four months; largest increase in revolving credit since March 2022.
  • Nonrevolving credit remained depressed with smallest increase in three months.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| May 03 2023

  FOMC Raises Fed Funds Rate to 16-year High

  • The FOMC raised the federal funds rate target by 25 basis points to a range of 5.00%-5.25%.
  • This is the highest funds rate target since July 2007.
  • All members of the FOMC voted in favor of today’s decision.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| May 02 2023

  U.S. Factory Orders Rebounded in March While Shipments Fell Further

  • New factory orders rebounded in March, increasing 0.9% m/m following declines in both January and February.
  • By contrast, shipments edged down 0.1% m/m in March, their fourth decline in the past five months.
  • Unfilled orders rose 0.9% m/m in March, their first increase in three months.
  • Inventories fell 0.8% m/m, their third consecutive monthly decline.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Apr 14 2023

  U.S. Import and Export Prices Declined in March

  • Import prices fell 0.6% m/m in March, the largest one-month decline since November 2022 and the eighth monthly decline in the past nine months.
  • Excluding fuels, import prices declined 0.5%, their first decline in four months.
  • Export prices fell 0.3% m/m, their first decline in three months, due mostly to falling agricultural prices.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Apr 12 2023

  U.S. Headline Consumer Price Inflation Slowed Further in March

  • Headline CPI increased a less-than-expected 0.1% m/m.
  • Reflected a widespread decline in energy prices and no change in food prices for the first time since November 2020.
  • Core CPI rose a more worrisome 0.4% m/m with the annual rate ticking up.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Apr 05 2023

  U.S. Trade Deficit Widened in February

  • Deficit has widened in five of the past six months.
  • Both exports and imports fell in February.
  • Real goods trade deficit widened for third consecutive month; implies trade to be a drag on Q1 GDP.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Mar 28 2023

  U.S. Advance Goods Trade Deficit Widened Further in February

  • $91.6 billion deficit in February, larger than expected.
  • Exports fell 3.8% m/m; imports declined 2.3% m/m.
  • Jan/Feb average deficit wider than in Q4; implies trade could be a small drag on Q1 GDP.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Mar 23 2023

  U.S. Current Account Deficit Narrowed Again in Q4 but Set New Record for 2022

  • Q4 deficit was smallest in six quarters.
  • Goods deficit widened in Q4 as both exports and imports fell.
  • Services surplus widened and deficit on secondary income narrowed in Q4.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Mar 15 2023

  Empire State Manufacturing Activity Plunges in March

  • The headline index fell 18.8 points to -24.6.
  • New orders and shipments each fell meaningfully.
  • Delivery times continued to shorten and the rise in prices paid slowed.
  • Expectations fell but remained in slightly positive.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Mar 15 2023

  U.S. Producer Prices Unexpectedly Declined in February

  • The headline index fell 0.1% m/m in February with a meaningful downward revision to January.
  • Core index increased 0.2% m/m.
  • Annual headline rate fell further to slowest pace since March 2021. Annual core rate unchanged.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Mar 14 2023

  NFIB Small Business Optimism Index Edged Up in February

  • NFIB Optimism Index edged up 0.6 point to 90.6, its second consecutive monthly increase.
  • But remained well below its 49-year average of 98.
  • Five of the index’s 10 index rose, four fell and one was unchanged.
  • Expectations that economy will improve in next six months fell.
  • Inflation still single most important problem, followed by labor quality.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief
• 

  USA| Mar 08 2023

  U.S. Job Openings Fell in January

  • The number of job openings declined to 10.8 million but still exceed unemployment by 5.130 million.
  • New hires rose, on slight uptrend.
  • Layoffs and discharges post largest monthly increase since November 2020.

  by:Sandy Batten

  |in:Economy in Brief