Mtg purchase apps, Personal income and spending, Pending home sales, US oil production, Atlanta Fed

Continues to decline and now down for the month:

6-29-1

Highlights
The lowest mortgage rates in three years are not causing much of a stir in purchase applications for home mortgages, down 3 percent in the June 24 week for the third weekly decline straight. The year-on-year increase in purchase applications volume is a still very strong 13 percent, though far below the 30 percent gains seen in March. Even mortgage refinancing activity abated, down 2.0 percent after rising 7 percent in the prior week. The average rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages on conforming loans ($417,000 or less) fell 1 basis point to 3.75 percent, the lowest rate since May 2013.

Reversing April’s uptick, as previously discussed:

6-29-2

Highlights
Personal income as well as personal spending slowed in May at the same time that price data remained quiet. Income rose at the low end of expectations, up only 0.2 percent, while spending showed a little life, up 0.4 percent.

The PCE core price index rose only 0.2 percent with the year-on-year rate unchanged and still below the Fed’s 2 percent target at 1.6 percent. Overall prices also rose 0.2 percent with the year-on-year rate dipping 2 tenths to only plus 0.9 percent.

Details on income show only a 0.2 percent rise in wages & salaries, down from April’s outsized 0.5 percent gain. With income growth stalling, consumers may have tapped into their savings slightly to fund May’s spending as the savings rate edged 1 tenth lower to 5.3 percent for the lowest rate of the year. Details on spending show gains concentrated in nondurable goods where price effects for gasoline and energy are inflating the totals. Spending on durable goods, despite a solid rise in vehicle sales during May, rose a soft 0.3 percent. Service spending was respectable with a 0.4 percent gain.

The spending side of May’s report isn’t robust though it was robust in April, revised in fact 1 tenth higher to a recovery best 1.1 percent. When adjusted for inflation, the two months combined show an annualized growth rate of about 4 percent which, with June’s results still pending, will support a jump in second quarter GDP.

But based on trends including May’s results, April may very well prove to be an outlier for spending. April aside, today’s report is consistent with moderate economic growth and does not point, especially with the uncertainty of Brexit in play, to a Fed rate hike anytime soon.

6-29-3
Note the damage done by the recession and then the tax hikes (Jan 2013):

6-29-4
Not good- another April uptick that reversed in May, and this time with April being revised down as well. Housing is looking less and less likely to be contributing to growth this year:

6-29-5

Highlights
Existing home sales have been trending higher but today’s pending home sales index, which tracks contract signings, may be pointing to slowing for the early part of the summer. The index fell a steep 3.7 percent in the May report to nearly reverse a downward revised 3.9 percent jump in April. Year-on-year, the pending sales index is down 0.2 percent which hints at moderation for the 4.5 percent rate of final sales. Details data show monthly declines across all four regions with year-on-year rates all flat near zero. Housing data have been up and down this year but behind the noise have been deceptively solid rates of growth, among the strongest rates of the nation’s slow-growth economy.

This is causing a rise in oil imports and is thereby dollar unfriendly:

6-29-6
This is up based on the stronger April numbers that wouldn’t surprise me if they continue to reverse through June, which could dramatically lower this forecast:
6-29-7

Redbook retail sales, Q1 corporate profits revision, Q1 GDP revision, Brexit chart, Richmond Fed, Consumer confidence

Still at recession levels:
6-28-2
6-28-3

Highlights
Corporate profits sank in the first quarter, revised to minus 2.3 percent year-on-year vs the initial estimate of minus 3.6 percent. Profits are after tax without inventory valuation or capital consumption adjustments.

6-28-4
Revised up mainly due to residential investment, which isn’t looking so good in q2. And the downward revision to personal consumption weakens the ‘resilient consumer’ narrative, especially with employment softening in q2. Also, prices a bit softer than previously reported:
6-28-5

Highlights
Strength in net exports and less weakness in nonresidential fixed investment gave a boost to first-quarter GDP which rose 1.1 percent in the 3rd estimate vs plus 0.8 percent for the second estimate. Net exports added more than 1 tenth to GDP as exports rose slightly in the quarter and imports fell. An upward revision to software helped shave the negative contribution from nonresidential investment by 2 tenths to 6 tenths. On the downward side, the positive contribution from personal consumption expenditures was lowered by nearly 3 tenths to 1 percentage point as service spending was cut. Inventories were little changed in the revision, subtracting 2 tenths from GDP which is welcome news as inventories are poised to be restocked. Residential investment was a main positive in the quarter, adding 5 tenths to GDP. Early estimates for second-quarter GDP are running at about 2 percent, a more respectable rate but still far from robust especially with the third-quarter outlook clouded by Brexit.

6-28-6
Another bad one:
6-28-7
Upside surprise here! But hasn’t been much of a forecaster of retail sales since oil prices collapsed:
6-28-8

6-28-9

Brexit comment, trade, PMI services, Comments on CNBC article on Trump’s plan

Still looks to me like the vote will have no material financial consequences?
6-27-1

“The UK will have to renegotiate 80,000 pages of EU agreements, deciding those to be kept in UK law and those to jettison. British officials have said privately that nobody knows how long this would take, but some ministers say it would clog up parliament for years.”

As previously discussed, the drop in oil prices led to increased consumer imports and reduced exports, both of which fundamentally work against the dollar:
6-27-2

Highlights
Goods exports were soft in May while at the same goods imports rose, making for a widening in the nation’s goods gap to $60.6 billion from April’s $57.5 billion. Exports fell 0.2 percent reflecting declines in auto exports and, unfortunately, capital goods exports as well. Imports rose a sharp 1.6 percent with imports of consumer goods especially strong in a gain that points to business confidence in U.S. retail expectations. Imports of industrial supplies show a large gain made larger by upward price effects tied to oil. But like the export side, capital goods imports were weak hinting at contraction in business investment and continuing trouble for productivity growth. Though the import data is consistent with strong domestic demand, exports point to soft global demand. Note also that the widening of May’s gap is a negative for second-quarter GDP.

Still weak:
6-27-3

Highlights
Service sector activity remains slow, little changed at an index of 51.3 for Markit’s June flash. New orders are picking up but remain soft while job creation is slowing for a third straight month. Confidence in the year-ahead outlook continues to moderate. Price data are subdued both for inputs and for selling prices. The bulk of the U.S. economy is chugging along at marginal rates of growth heading into Brexit fallout and ongoing market volatility.

Here’s why Trump’s economic plan would spark a recession: Moody’s Mark Zandi

By Stephanie Landsman

June 26 (CNBC) —

If Donald Trump becomes president and implements his current economic plan, Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said it would create dire consequences for the U.S. economy.

“The key thing is the very large budget deficits which would ensue under his plan,” Zandi recently told CNBC’s “Fast Money.”

The large deficits would add to output and employment, as every economist who gets paid to be right knows and incorporates into his forecasts.

That is, if congress increases the deficit by cutting taxes or increasing spending, GDP forecasts are always revised up accordingly.

Zandi, a former economic advisor to 2008 republican presidential candidate John McCain, is the man behind a new report that suggested a Trump presidency would send the economy spiraling into a recession. He cites the “massive tax cuts” in Trump’s plan as his plan’s biggest problem.

“Only a small part of that is paid for so you get very large budget deficits and much higher government debt—on top of an economy that’s already at full employment,” Zandi explained. That “results in much higher interest rates which combined with a lot of other things undermines corporate earnings and ultimately stock prices.”

All evidence shows increased deficits support higher earnings. And interest rates are set by the Fed, so they would go up only if the Fed votes to raise them. And the size of the deficit per se is not the driving force of the Fed’s reaction function.

And while headline unemployment is relatively low at 4.7%, he also knows that doesn’t mean there is no one left to be hired, particularly with the ultra low participation rates that contribute to the near 10% U6 rate of unemployment.

Zandi, who’s getting ready to release special analysis of Hillary Clinton’s economic plan, believes a watered-down Trump measure is the likeliest scenario if he wins the race for the White House. Zandi added that a less aggressive economic plan would still negatively alter the current economy’s state.

“I don’t think the Congress, no matter what it (the plan) looks like, would actually pass what he has proposed,” he said. “It’s pretty clear that everyone would end up in a pretty bad place.”

Moody’s isn’t the only one to find fault with Trump’s tax plan. Just months ago, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation said the real estate mogul’s tax and spending proposals were “unrealistic”, and could explode the U.S.’s debt burden.

However, the Trump campaign took issue with Zandi’s research, firing back with salvos of its own.

“The errors in Zandi’s analysis are profound,” Trump campaign senior policy advisor Stephen Miller wrote in a statement released to CNBC.

“Closing the trade gap with China would create millions of jobs, as would lowering taxes, unleashing energy production, streamling regulations, and ending the fiscal drain of open borders,” Miller added.

Nor does any of that address Zandi’s point about the us being at full employment with no one left to hire.

Zandi, however, responded that his study is “error free.”

And they all miss the risk of depression should Trump attempt to execute his play to pay off the public debt in 8 years.

Instead, thinking that would be a good thing, it’s never addressed…

Credit check, Comments on the great moderation

Gradual deceleration looks to be continuing:
6-25-1
Growth here had been increasing, helping to offset the decline in govt. deficit spending, but after the oil capex collapse this measure of credit growth leveled off:
6-25-2
Real estate as well as consumer loan growth have also leveled off:
6-25-3
6-25-4
This story is all about income here as well. The consumer has been hit hard twice due to the recession and then tax hikes and it’s all ratcheted down a notch each time. Even in the prior recession personal income didn’t go down, as it has twice just in the last 8 years.

So if you look at the total growth from 2007 to 2016 it’s pretty much in line with the reduced rate of growth of output and the lower levels of employment:
6-25-5

June car sales forecasts, Philly Fed recession indicator

Looks like another small decrease as the deceleration continues:

Vehicle Sales Forecasts: Sales to be Over 17 Million SAAR again in June

By Bill McBride

June 24 (Calculated Risk Blog) — The automakers will report June vehicle sales on Friday, July 1st.

Note: There were 26 selling days in June, up from 25 in June 2015.
From WardsAuto: Forecast: June Sales to Reach 11-Year High

A WardsAuto forecast calls for U.S. automakers to deliver 1.57 million light vehicles this month.

The expected daily sales rate of 60,314 over 26 selling days represents a 2.5% improvement from like-2015 (25 days), with total volume for the month rising 6.6%.

The report puts the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales for the month at 17.3 million units, shy of last month’s 17.37 million SAAR, but ahead of the current 3-month SAAR (17.0 million) and the year-to-date SAAR through May (17.2 million).

From TrueCar: June Auto Sales Likely to Rebound From May’s Shortfall on Buoyant Retail Demand

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for total light vehicle sales in June is an estimated 17.2 million units, up from 17 million units a year ago.

Looks like another strong month for vehicle sales.
Read more at http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/#Hjzw6i0mUYk2as6A.99

6-24-8

6-24-9

Durable goods orders, Consumer sentiment, UK comments

Weaker than expected, and turns out it was up in April followed by down in May as previously discussed:

6-24-5

Highlights
May proved to be a generally weak month for the factory sector. Minus signs spread across the durable goods report with total new orders down a very sizable 2.2 percent and ex-transportation orders, which exclude aircraft and vehicles, down 0.3 percent.

The worst news comes from capital goods, a sector where weakness points to weakness in business investment and ultimately the nation’s productivity. Orders for core capital goods fell 0.7 percent in the month while shipments, which are inputs into the nonresidential investment component of GDP, fell 0.5 percent.

Overall shipments also fell, down 0.2 percent with inventories in thankful contraction, down 0.3 percent and holding the inventory-to-shipments ratio unchanged at 1.65. Unfilled orders, which outside of April’s 0.6 percent gain have not been strong, rose a modest 0.2 percent in May.

Vehicles, like they were in the industrial production report, were once again very weak with orders down 2.8 percent and shipments down 3.4 percent. Vehicle sales, however, have been solid and point to a rebound for the related factory data. Orders and shipments for commercial aircraft remain solid with orders in May up an unusually tame 1.0 percent. Machinery orders, at the heart of the capital goods group, are down for a second month with both primary and fabricated metals showing order declines.

The decline in capital goods is certain to pull back second-quarter GDP estimates which, in the 2 percent range, aren’t that strong to begin with. The dollar’s decline this year has not done much to lift exports or the factory sector which going into Brexit, and the ensuing spike in the dollar, was simply flat.

Revised down a bit:
6-24-7
6-24-6
Brexit comments:

So should Parliament follow through and somehow break their EU ties, what’s left is to (re)negotiate what I’ve read is thousands of trade related agreements. And at the rate of maybe one per year that could take quite a while….

The question then is whether current arrangements are allowed to remain pending negotiations, or if trade itself is halted pending negotiations. Seems the former is in the best interest of both sides, which is not to say that’s what they will do, of course.

As for other EU members leaving, it’s a whole lot more problematic as it would entail creating new currencies, which has not had the support of the majority of the voters in any euro area member nation.

Wouldn’t surprise me if the whole thing falls out of the news cycle over the next week or so.

Chicago Fed, New home sales, Architecture Billings Index

Remember the enthusiasm around last month’s move up? As suspected, it’s reversed and the 3 month average remains negative:

6-24-1

Highlights
May was a weak month based on the minus 0.51 result for the national activity index, one that drives the 3-month average to a minus 0.36 level consistent with below average growth.

Production, not employment, is by far the weakest component in May, at minus 0.32 and reflecting contraction in industrial production and factory utilization. Employment, despite the very weak 38,000 total for nonfarm payrolls, fell only slightly, to minus 0.09 from minus 0.06 getting a lift from the month’s 3 tenths drop in the unemployment rate (a drop however tied to a fall in participation and one widely considered a sign of weakness, not strength). The sales/orders/inventories component fell slightly to minus 0.01 while personal consumption & housing, despite isolated bursts of strength in related indicators, fell to minus 0.09 from minus 0.02.

The readings in this report are broadly but not deeply negative, though they would be a bit deeper still if the report’s methodology picked up the counter-intuitive move in the unemployment rate.

Last month’s exceptionally large increase was revised lower, and this month’s is lower still. Looks to me like fears of higher rates and builders discounting to clear inventory may have contributed to the higher April sales and now it’s all reversing. And in any case sales remain at historically depressed levels, as per the chart, which is not population adjusted:

6-24-2

Highlights
Data on new home sales, due to small samples, are always volatile, but underlying the monthly swings is a trend of strength. New home sales fell a severe looking 6.0 percent in May but the annualized sales rate, at 551,000, is second best of the cycle, next only to April’s 586,000 (revised downward from an initial 619,000).

Home builders were offering concessions in the month based on the price data where the median fell 9.3 percent to $290,400. Year-on-year, the median price is up only 1.0 percent. A positive in the report is supply as 3,000 more new homes entered the market bringing the total to 244,000. Relative to sales, supply improved to 5.3 months vs 4.9 months in April.

The South is the driving force in the data, dipping 0.9 percent to a 323,000 rate but still up 13.3 percent year-on-year. In contrast, sales in the West, which is also an important region for new homes, fell 15.6 percent in the month to a 124,000 rate which is down 8.8 percent on the year.

Trends right now in the housing market do not appear to be red hot but only moderate, which perhaps is a positive for an often boom-and-bust sector.

6-24-3

6-24-4

Mtg purchase apps, Existing home sales

6-23-2

Highlights
Despite another fall in rates, the purchase index is not pointing to acceleration for home sales, down 2.0 percent in the June 17 week with year-on-year growth slowing 4 percentage points to 12 percent. Low rates, however, are an immediate plus for refinancing where the index rose 7.0 percent. And rates are indeed low, at an average 3.76 percent for conforming loans ($417,000 or less) which is down 3 basis points in the week and at its lowest since May 2013.

Not much going on here either:
6-23-1
6-23-3

Chemical activity barometer, Fed Atlanta job tracker, Recession article

Looks to me like it’s still decelerating?

From the American Chemistry Council: Chemical Activity Barometer Continues Solid Growth in June; Signals Higher U.S. Business Activity Through End Of The Year

Read more at http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/#fcgmQuzJH31oFHbc.99

er-6-21-6

Wage ‘pressures’ indicators, after all this time, are finally moving up towards what would have been considered historically very low levels, so time to slam on the brakes? (Not that rate hikes are slamming on the brakes, but that they think they are.)

er-6-21-5

The next recession is already here—and there isn’t much the Fed can do

By Michael Pento

June 21 (CNBC)