The FED Said   Overall US Economic Activity The U.S. economy expanded at a slight to modest pace since the prior report as business activity varied across the country. Reports from Districts representing states in the southern and western U.S. generally were more upbeat than Districts representing the Midwest and Great Plains. Household spending was […] Read more

  The FED Said The word cycle contains the notion of regularity. Yet one of the most important cycles of all, the business cycle, is anything but predictable. Plainly put, the business cycle is how economists refer to the inevitable ups—expansions— and downs—contractions, or recessions—of economic activity over time. But determining exactly when a cycle ends and […] Read more

The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Sixth District business contacts indicated that economic activity softened slightly during the reporting period. Many firms noted persistent challenges with filling positions. Annual wage increases remained between 3-4 percent, on average, and businesses across the District continued to report increased nonlabor input costs. […] Read more

The FED Said The Atlanta Fed’s Wage Growth Tracker has shown an uptick during the past several months. The 12-month average reached 3.7 percent in June, up from 3.2 percent last year. But in 2016, it depicted acceleration that eventually reversed course. So is this recent increase real or illusory? Although using a 12-month average quiets much […] Read more

The FED Said Ransomware attacks have only continued since I addressed the problem in a recent post, and they’ve continued to target municipal and state agencies. Riviera Beach (May) and Lake City (June), both in Florida, were successfully attacked. Lake City paid a bitcoin ransom of approximately $470,000 while Riviera Beach paid about $600,000, also in […] Read more

The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity On balance, reports from Sixth District business contacts indicated that economic activity continued to expand at a modest pace from mid-May through June. Although contacts shared concerns over uncertainty related to tariffs, the overall outlook among businesses remains positive as most expect continued […] Read more

The FED Said Spring brought a lift to home sales, according to the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book report  of economic conditions. Economic activity expanded reasonably from mid-May to June, and most business contacts have a positive outlook for growth in the second half of the year. Tariffs continue to cause concern for some sectors. Residential […] Read more

The FED Said One day a single mother in Florida phoned Brittany Birken with a vexing dilemma. The woman’s employer was offering a dime-an-hour raise, a material boost at her low wage. But the woman, who had two children under five years old, was unsure whether to accept the pay hike because the additional income […] Read more

The FED Said During April and early May, southeastern businesses continued to adjust to a tight labor market, according to the Federal Reserve Beige Book report  of economic conditions issued on June 5. For about five years, Atlanta Fed contacts have remarked on the difficulty of finding qualified workers in certain occupations. More recently, some executives […] Read more

The FED Said Without question, the U.S. labor market has tightened a lot over the last few years. But a shifting trend in labor force participation—and especially a rise in the propensity to seek employment by those in their prime working years—seems to be relieving some labor market pressure. From the first quarter of 2015 […] Read more

The FED Said Overall Economic Activity Economic activity expanded at a slight-to-moderate pace in March and early April. While most Districts reported that growth continued at a similar pace as the previous report, a few Districts reported some strengthening. There was little change in the outlook among contacts in reporting Districts, with those expecting slight-to-modest […] Read more

The FED Said  Most business contacts in the southeastern United States expect continued moderate improvement in economic conditions, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report on economic activity published April 17. Labor markets remained generally tight, especially for tough-to-fill positions such as medical professionals, engineers, drivers, and skilled laborers. Businesses continued to refine their techniques to […] Read more

The FED Said Two interesting, and important, documents crossed our desk last week. The first was the 2019 edition of the Economic Report of the President. What particularly grabbed our attention was the following statement from Chapter 3: Fundamentally, when people opt to neither work nor look for work it is an indication that the after-tax income […] Read more

The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Sixth District business contacts reported that economic activity continued to advance at a moderate pace over the reporting period and the outlook among contacts remained positive. Labor markets continued to tighten, and some firms noted relocating certain segments of their operations to gain […] Read more