[Outcast_Searcher]

Meanwhile things continue to get better overall in the US labor market.

Not really. After you subtract higher healthcare premiums and deductibles those pittance raises have more then been eaten up and property taxes and rents are well ahead of the official inflation rate. So net disposable income is down not up and it is going to get worse before it gets better.

Focus. I said the US labor market is getting better. That is more jobs and higher wages. That's not really debatable.

Now, if you want to say the overall economy, re healthcare and taxes and rent is having an adverse impact, that may well be. However, that subject is the overall economy and beyond the scope of my comment. That gets into politics and fiscal policies, etc.

Regardless, things like higher rents, caused by strong housing are signs of economic strength. So, consistent with the title of this thread, those are NOT signs of impending economic demise. I agree that the healthcare costs (including the extra taxes on the folks paying the bills) are a mess, but that's largely due to politics and there is a separate thread for the ACA.

[vtsnowedin]

This thread is about the entire US economy not just the labor statistics. To look at wage figures without consideration of cost of living and tax rates including ACA fines and premiums is to ignore the real problem and it's possible remedy.

[onlooker]

Where have you guys been living the last 75 years!
2014 Continues a 35-Year Trend of Broad-Based Wage Stagnation
http://www.epi.org/publication/stagnant-wages-in-2014/
http://www.mybudget360.com/cost-of-livi ... inflation/
Comparing the inflated cost of living today from 1938 to 2013: How the US Dollar has lost incredible purchasing power since 1938.

[vtsnowedin]

Where have you guys been living the last 75 years!
2014 Continues a 35-Year Trend of Broad-Based Wage Stagnation
http://www.epi.org/publication/stagnant-wages-in-2014/
http://www.mybudget360.com/cost-of-livi ... inflation/
Comparing the inflated cost of living today from 1938 to 2013: How the US Dollar has lost incredible purchasing power since 1938.

Well I wasn't working 75 years ago but having worked through most of the last 46 years I am quite aware that wages and purchasing power topped out about 1970 and have been stagnant or even declining ever sense.

[copious.abundance]

Retail Sales in U.S. Jump More Than Forecast in Broad Advance

Sales at U.S. retailers rose more than forecast last month in a broad advance after an even stronger September than initially estimated, showing consumers continue to pump up the economy.

A 0.8 percent rise in October followed an upwardly revised 1 percent jump in the prior month, marking the biggest back-to-back increase since March-April 2014, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.6 percent gain. Over the last 12 months, retail sales were up the most in almost two years.

Healthy hiring, wage growth and limited inflation are giving Americans the wherewithal to spend at stores, malls and online merchants. Momentum at the start of the quarter bodes well for household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, during the approaching holiday-shopping season.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

Housing starts surge 25% to postrecession high

Housing starts jumped 25% in October to a postrecession high as volatile apartment construction more than reversed a sharp decline and single-family starts surged as well.

Construction of homes and apartments rose 25.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 million, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That soundly beat economists’ estimate of 1.16 million.

Multifamily starts soared 69% to an annual rate of 454,000 after falling 38% in September.

Single-family starts increased 10.7% to an annual rate of 869,000, which also marked a postrecession high.

Building permits, an indicator of future starts, edged up to an annual rate of 1.23 million,more than the 1.19 million economists expected.

[copious.abundance]

U.S. existing home sales race to more than 9-1/2-year high

U.S. home resales rose in October to their highest level in more than 9-1/2 years as homebuyers, buoyed by an improving labor market, took advantage of still-low mortgage rates to snatch up properties after many were shut out during the busy summer selling season.

The jump in sales was further evidence of a pickup in economic growth early in the fourth quarter.

"You have to be pretty confident to buy a house," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York. "Consumers certainly were in October, showing no hesitation whatsoever ahead of the presidential elections with its often harsh rhetoric and focus on all the things wrong with the economy."

While a recent surge in mortgage rates could hurt the housing market next year, the impact is likely to be modest given a labor market that is at or close to full employment.

The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday existing home sales rose 2.0 percent to an annual rate of 5.6 million units last month, the highest level since February 2007.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

Been a while since I could post a headline like this for durable or capital goods orders.



Orders for U.S. Capital Goods Rise for Fourth Month in Last Five

Orders for U.S. business equipment climbed in October for the fourth month in the last five and sales also advanced, indicating corporate investment may be starting to thaw.

Bookings for non-military capital goods excluding aircraft -- a proxy for future spending on items like computers, engines and communications gear -- rose 0.4 percent, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.3 percent gain. Demand for all durable goods -- items meant to last at least three years -- jumped 4.8 percent on a surge in orders for commercial aircraft.

The figures signal a gradual turn in investment spending that has suffered from contraction in the energy sector, an inventory overhang and weak export demand. While a recent surge in the dollar may become a headwind for equipment makers, prospects of more infrastructure development improve the outlook for capital outlays in the coming year.

[...]

[Outcast_Searcher]

A new day has arrived. Let's head out to the mall and make it the Blackest Friday ever. For the Gipper!

But really Copie. Has the economy really climbed back out of its dark dark hole? Have we returned back to the Glorious Reagan Years? Again?

When all you have is fact free FUD, you're not winning the argument.

[copious.abundance]

GDP rises at 3.2% annual pace, strongest in more than two years

The economy grew at the fastest pace in over two years in the third quarter as consumers and government stepped up their spending and exports surged.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 3.2% annual rate in the Commerce Department’s second reading, released Tuesday. That is the strongest pace since the second quarter of 2014. It beat the consensus estimate of a 3.1% growth rate among economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Consumer spending rose 2.8% in the quarter, stronger than the original estimate of 2.1%. The consumer sector accounts for two-thirds of the economy, and that has been bolstering economic growth for several quarters.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

US consumer spending, income increase in October

U.S. consumer spending increased less than expected in October as households took advantage of rising incomes to boost savings to a seven-month high, but remained sufficiently strong to support economic growth in the fourth quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, increased 0.3 percent after an upwardly revised 0.7 percent gain in September.

[...]

Personal income rose 0.6 percent last month after increasing 0.4 percent in September.

Wages and salaries advanced 0.5 percent for a second straight month. Savings increased to $860.2 billion from $814.1 billion in September. That was the highest level since March of this year.

[copious.abundance]

Chicago PMI soars to highest level in almost two years

A measure of Chicago-area economic activity surged in November to its highest level in almost two years, another sign the manufacturing sector is starting to strengthen.

The Chicago PMI jumped to 57.6 in November, its highest level since January 2015, MNI Indicators said Wednesday. Economists had been expecting a reading of 52.0.

In October, the index had slipped 3.6 points to 50.6. Readings above 50 indicate expansion in the sector.

The U.S. factory sector has been treading water after recovering a bit from several headwinds, including weaker oil prices, slow global growth, and the strong dollar. The data suggest the sector could be starting to firm.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

U.S. Service-Sector Activity Surged in November

U.S. service industries boosted production and hiring in November, the latest sign the economy is expanding at a solid pace after a weak first half of the year.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday its index of nonmanufacturing activity rose to 57.2 in November from 54.8 in October. A reading above 50 indicates sector expansion.

Last month’s reading—the highest in 13 months—easily exceeded economists’ expectation of a level of 55.5.

[...]

[Plantagenet]

Hi copious abundance:

You've been pretty much on track with your optimistic view of the US economy. Congrats.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers!

[Outcast_Searcher]

A new day has arrived. Let's head out to the mall and make it the Blackest Friday ever. For the Gipper!

But really Copie. Has the economy really climbed back out of its dark dark hole? Have we returned back to the Glorious Reagan Years? Again?

When all you have is fact free FUD, you're not winning the argument.

FUD f#cked up denial is all I see on this thread. Apparently I am the only one here without FUD

Really? So your calls of doom are "reality", but all the articles with all the positive numbers as reported by the MSM which copious and some others keep pointing out are FUD?

Try that argument in a court and you could end up in the loony bin.

[onlooker]

Still believing the 'MSM , so I suppose then you also believe that overpopulation, resource depletion, environmental destruction, peak oil etc etc, will all be solved by technology and this planet destroying, life consuming civilization will just keep humming along for at least another 100 years. Okay can I sell you some property on the Moon? Oh and greetings to our resident shill Copious Abundance