Consumer spending was unusually strong as it surged 0.9 percent in March, the largest gain since 2005 with the exception of one month in 2009.
The release this week of puny GDP growth was shrugged off by most of the market. Anticipation of low growth was built into expectations because of the extremely cold and snowy winter that disrupted a great deal of economic activity. The economy grew at a rate of 0.1 percent. Weakness was across the board except for consumer spending. Looking deeper into the numbers by singling out key factors like consumer spending, business investment and home building, the first quarter rate of growth hit 1.9 percent in annual terms. Those categories are likewise up 2.6 percent in the past year and well within t...
Key Takeaways: Milk alone has not covered the full economic cost in any year since 2021: milk revenue fell short by $4.50, $2.15, $6.50, $1.27 and $2.34 per hundredweight in 2021 through 2025. Calf and cattle prices decided whether dairies cleared cost: cattle and other income lifted total rev...
Key Takeaways: Dry bulk markets are mixed with Capesize rates seeing solid gains while Panamax values slipped on a growing tonnage list. Supramax and Handysize vessels were stronger, though all sectors remain vulnerable to the seasonal dip in rates through Q4 and into Q1. Falling water l...
What You Need to Know Today: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.75 to 4.0 percent Wednesday, with two officials dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point increase. The Fed upgraded its assessment of economic growth from "solid" to "strong" but adopted a more patient approa...
