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Under Secretary's Blog

Housing Market Continues Bounce

Submitted on January 19, 2011 - 10:00am
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New Residential Construction in December 2010

The bottom line is that the housing market continues to bounce along the bottom (at least in terms of national totals). Today’s data did have a quirky permits number, but that could have been the result of builders rushing to file permits before the end of the year to avoid some new regulations in the states of Pennsylvania, New York, and California. Therefore, next month expect permits to retrace most of today’s gain.

U.S. Trade Deficit Little Changed in November

Submitted on January 14, 2011 - 4:12pm

If you recall, last month the monthly trade data surprised on the upside: exports shot up and the trade deficit went down more than market expectations. Sometimes with monthly economic series, these sudden changes reverse themselves in the next month (giveth and taketh away). Not the case this time, folks: exports and imports edged up a bit and the deficit was nearly unchanged. What this implies is that real export growth (adjusted for price changes) in the fourth quarter will likely increase at or near a double digit clip (at annualized rates, which is what GDP uses) while real imports, wait for it, may actually fall.

Retail Sales in December, Fourth Quarter, and 2010

Submitted on January 14, 2011 - 1:02pm

ESA makes its initial foray into the blogosphere today! Mark Doms, Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Commerce, will be discussing the major economic releases. Dr. Doms will highlight the headline numbers and help put into perspective the underlying data trends.

Releases and issues discussed will include gross domestic product and corporate profits, international trade in goods and services, retail sales, new residential construction (housing starts and permits) and the employment situation.

ESA Will Launch Its Blog This Week

Submitted on January 10, 2011 - 10:05am

ESA will enter the blogosphere with discussions of new data releases and what they mean, from Chief Economist Mark Doms.

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