The FED Said Fading housing affordability remains a challenge for residential builders who already face headwinds from labor cost increases and higher material costs. U.S. home sales have staged a strong comeback in the aftermath of the recession, but many builders are not expecting this year’s sales to be as healthy as they were in […] Read more
The FED Said Although millennials have been known to be the most charitable age group compared to earlier generations, they are, ironically, holding their money very close when it comes to taking financial risks. According to a recent study from the Federal Reserve, millennials are less well off than previous generations of young adults. They […] Read more
The FED Said Many people are quitting their current job. According to data from the Job Openings, Layoffs, and Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers are voluntarily leaving their current workplace (for reasons other than retirement or internal company transfers) at rates not seen since the late 1990s. A high […] Read more
The FED Said Beige Book – January 16, 2019 Overall US Economic Activity Economic activity increased in most of the U.S., with eight of twelve Federal Reserve Districts reporting modest to moderate growth. Nonauto retail sales grew modestly, as several Districts reported more holiday traffic compared with last year. Auto sales were flat on balance. […] Read more
The FED Said Some of the most important forces that have molded Miami, economically and otherwise, emanated from outside Florida and even the United States. The evolution that largely produced today’s south Florida metropolis began 60 years ago. When Communists seized power in Cuba in 1959, a wave of exiles fled north, beginning a continuing […] Read more
The FED Said In recent years, housing has become less affordable for low- and moderate-income residents across the United States. New Federal Reserve research provides insight into how this trend is playing out across the Southeast. Andrew Dumont, a senior community development analyst at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, DC, examined the […] Read more
The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Reports from Sixth District business contacts described economic conditions as expanding at a moderate pace since the previous report. The majority of contacts are optimistic and expect the pace to continue for the remainder of the year. The labor market remained tight amid […] Read more
The FED Said In October 2017, Amazon ignited a frenzy among economic developers. When the company announced plans to open a second North American headquarters and staff it with 50,000 high-paying jobs, more than 200 cities, counties, and states made formal bids. Many jurisdictions promised publicly financed incentives—packages of tax breaks, free land, grants, and […] Read more
The FED Said Raj Chetty sees himself as a product of the American dream. An immigrant himself, Chetty moved here with his parents from India when he was 9 years old. The Harvard economist is probably the nation’s leading authority on the erosion of kids’ chances to do better than their parents. His groundbreaking research […] Read more
The FED Said Overall U.S. Economic Activity Economic activity expanded across the United States, with the majority of Federal Reserve Districts reporting modest to moderate growth. New York and St. Louis indicated slight growth, overall, while Dallas reported robust growth driven by strong manufacturing, retail, and nonfinancial services activity. On balance, manufacturers reported moderate output […] Read more
The FED Said Businesses across the Southeast are reporting rising nonlabor costs, and the most recent surveys show that firms expect their input costs to increase more quickly over the next year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s new Beige Book report on regional economic conditions. Unit costs in September were up 2 percent over […] Read more
The FED Said (actually this was from a Fed link to the NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH) Since 2000, gross profit rates in the United States have risen and industry concentration has soared, but these trends are not found in the European Union. Until the late 1990s, most U.S. markets were viewed as highly competitive […] Read more
The FED Said The stakes are high for the Southeast as the United States tries to work out new trade agreements with Mexico and Canada. The talks are intended to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the treaty between Mexico, Canada, and the United States that took effect in 1994. The United States […] Read more
The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Sixth District business contacts indicated that economic activity expanded at a moderate pace since the previous report. On balance, the outlook among firms for the remainder of the year was positive, despite some uncertainty surrounding trade policy. Firms continued to cite hiring challenges, […] Read more
The FED Said Job creation—particularly in major cities—is one of the biggest drivers of residential real estate, attracting individuals and families to a new area. Over the past seven years, the United States has created an average of 200,000 new jobs a month. During that same time, the states in the Atlanta Fed’s district—Alabama, Florida, […] Read more