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Friday, August 28, 2015

Vehicle Sales Forecasts for August: Over 17 Million Annual Rate Again

by Calculated Risk on 8/28/2015 11:49:00 AM

The automakers will report August vehicle sales on Tuesday, Sept 1. Sales in July were at 17.5 million on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis (SAAR), and it appears sales in August will be over 17 million SAAR again.

Note:  There were 26 selling days in August, down from 27 in August 2014 (Also note: Labor Day is not included in August this year).  Here are two forecasts:

From J.D. Power: Industry Strength Continues in August, Full-Month Volume Impacted by Calendar

For the first time since 2012, new-vehicle sales over the Labor Day weekend will be tallied as part of September’s sales rather than counted in August’s number. Even when the Labor Day holiday falls in early September, its sales are often part of the August total, but not this year when the holiday lands on Sept. 7.
...
New-vehicle retail sales are projected to hit 1.3 million units in August, a 1.2 percent decrease on a selling-day adjusted basis, compared with August 2014. ... [Total forecast 17.2 million SAAR]

On a year-over-year basis, August sales are going to appear weak, when in fact it’s really a variance in the numbers created by the calendar,” said John Humphrey, senior vice president of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power.“There certainly is no cause for alarm. In fact, the daily selling rate month-to-date in August is trending 8 percent higher than the same period a year ago, although we do anticipate the absence of the holiday in August sales will diminish that rate by the end of the month.

“Our expectation is that with Labor Day falling in September, sales that would have occurred this month are being pushed into next month. If that happens, September will move sales back to the strong trend line we’ve been seeing throughout the year.”
emphasis added
From Kelley Blue Book: New-Car Sales To Drop 4 Percent In August 2015, According To Kelley Blue Book
New-vehicle sales are expected to decline 4 percent year-over-year to a total of 1.52 million units in August 2015, resulting in an estimated 17.2 million seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to Kelley Blue Book
Another solid month for auto sales - although some reporting will ignore the calendar issues (Labor Day not included in August this year).

Final August Consumer Sentiment at 91.9

by Calculated Risk on 8/28/2015 10:03:00 AM

The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for August was at 91.9, down from the preliminary reading of 92.9, and down from 93.1 in July.

This was below the consensus forecast of 93.3.

Consumer Sentiment

Personal Income increased 0.4% in July, Spending increased 0.3%

by Calculated Risk on 8/28/2015 08:39:00 AM

The BEA released the Personal Income and Outlays report for July:

Personal income increased $67.1 billion, or 0.4 percent ... in July, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $37.4 billion, or 0.3 percent.
...
Real PCE -- PCE adjusted to remove price changes -- increased 0.2 percent in July, compared with an increase of less than 0.1 percent in June. ... The price index for PCE increased 0.3 percent in May, compared with an increase of less than 0.1 percent in April. The PCE price index, excluding food and energy, increased 0.1 percent in May, the same increase as in April.

The July price index for PCE increased 0.3 percent from July a year ago. The July PCE price index, excluding food and energy, increased 1.2 percent from July a year ago.
The following graph shows real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) through July 2015 (2009 dollars). Note that the y-axis doesn't start at zero to better show the change.

Personal Consumption Expenditures Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed red lines are the quarterly levels for real PCE.

The increase in personal income was at consensus expectations.  And the increase in PCE was slightly below the consensus.

On inflation: The PCE price index increased 0.3 percent year-over-year due to the sharp decline in oil prices. The core PCE price index (excluding food and energy) increased 1.2 percent year-over-year in July.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Friday: July Personal Income and Outlays, Consumer Sentiment

by Calculated Risk on 8/27/2015 09:01:00 PM

A couple of excerpts from a Merrill Lynch research note, first on the possibility of a September rate hike, and second their forecast for August NFP:

Markets are now pricing a fairly slim chance that the Fed will hike in September, taking to heart the remarks by New York Fed President Bill Dudley midweek that liftoff in September looks “less compelling.” We think a more careful reading of Dudley’s comments suggests that September has not been ruled out. Meanwhile, Vice Chair Stanley Fischer speaks at Jackson Hole this weekend. His comments on inflation and the markets will be most noteworthy, and we expect him to suggest that September remains viable provided the data continue to cooperate and market volatility fades.
CR Note: a September rate hike is still on the table, and Fischer's talk on Saturday will be important.

Note: Saturday at 12:25 PM ET, Speech by Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, U.S. Inflation Developments, At the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

And from Merrill on August NFP:
Payrolls likely grew by a healthy 200,000 in August, not far from the 6-month moving average of 210,000. A pick-up in hiring in the household survey could also nudge the jobless rate down to 5.2% from 5.3% — a sign that labor market slack continues to diminish. Average hourly earnings should rise by a steady 0.2% mom, but softer base-year effects will take the yoy rate down a tenth of a percent to 2.0%.
Friday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, Personal Income and Outlays for July. The consensus is for a 0.4% increase in personal income, and for a 0.4% increase in personal spending. And for the Core PCE price index to increase 0.1%.

• At 10:00 AM, University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (final for August). The consensus is for a reading of 93.3, up from the preliminary reading of 92.9.

MBA on Housing Demand from 2014 to 2024

by Calculated Risk on 8/27/2015 05:29:00 PM

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a new report this week: Demographics and the Numbers Behind the Coming Multi-Million increase in Households by Lynn Fisher and Jamie Woodwell.

The report has some great section titles such as "Demographics is Destiny" and "35 is the new 25". These are two topics I've written about extensively.  See: Demographics and Behavior and Are Multi-Family Housing Starts near a peak?

The MBA estimates the number of households will increase by between 13.8 million and 15.8 million over the next decade. Add in some demolitions and some second home buying, and that would suggest housing starts of well over 1.5 million per year. Housing starts are running at about 1.1 million so far this year (1.2 million SAAR in July). This would suggest a further increase in starts.

The MBA presents two scenarios (both seem plausible although I haven't checked the numbers).

Under these conditions, the U.S. will see 15.9 million additional households — 12.7 million owner households (versus 10.3 million in scenario 1) and 3.1 million renter households (versus 5.6 million in scenario 1) — over the next ten years.
Both scenarios suggest a shift to more owner built units (and more new home sales).

Note: For a current look at household formation, economist Jed Kolko wrote last week: Who Is Actually Forming New Households?

Early Look at 2016 Cost-Of-Living Adjustments and Maximum Contribution Base

by Calculated Risk on 8/27/2015 01:01:00 PM

The BLS reported this last week:

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) decreased 0.3 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 233.806 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index was essentially unchanged prior to seasonal adjustment.
CPI-W is the index that is used to calculate Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA). The calculation dates have changed over time (see Cost-of-Living Adjustments), but the current calculation uses the average CPI-W for the three months in Q3 (July, August, September) and compares to the average for the highest previous average of Q3 months. Note: this is not the headline CPI-U, and is not seasonally adjusted (NSA).

Since the highest Q3 average was last year (Q3 2014), at 234.242, we only have to compare to last year. 

CPI-W and COLA Adjustment Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows CPI-W since January 2000. The red lines are the Q3 average of CPI-W for each year.

Note: The year labeled for the calculation, and the adjustment is effective for December of that year (received by beneficiaries in January of the following year).

By law, COLA can't be negative, so if the average for CPI-W is down year-over-year, COLA is set to zero (no adjustment).

CPI-W was down 0.3% year-over-year in July.  This is early - we need the data for August and September - but if gasoline prices continue to decline, COLA could be zero this year.

Contribution and Benefit Base

The law prohibits an increase in the contribution and benefit base if COLA is not greater than zero. However if the there is even a small increase in COLA, the contribution base will be adjusted using the National Average Wage Index.

From Social Security: Method for determining the base
The formula for determining the OASDI contribution and benefit base is set by law. The formula is applicable only if a cost-of-living increase becomes effective for December of the year in which a determination of the base would ordinarily be made. ...
This is based on a one year lag. The National Average Wage Index is not available for 2014 yet, but wages probably increased again in 2014. If wages increased the same as last year, then the contribution base next year will be increased to around $120,000 from the current $118,500.  However, if COLA is zero, the contribution base will remain at $118,500.

Remember - this is an early look. What matters is average CPI-W for all three months in Q3 (July, August and September).

NAR: Pending Home Sales Index increased 0.5% in July, up 7% year-over-year

by Calculated Risk on 8/27/2015 10:22:00 AM

From the NAR: Pending Home Sales Inch Forward in July

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, marginally increased 0.5 percent to 110.9 in July from an upwardly revised 110.4 in June and is now 7.4 percent above July 2014 (103.3). The index has increased year-over-year for 11 consecutive months and is the third highest reading of 2015, behind April (111.6) and May (112.3).
This was below expectations of a 1.0% increase.

Note: Contract signings usually lead sales by about 45 to 60 days, so this would usually be for closed sales in August and September.

Q2 GDP Revised up to 3.7%, Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decreased to 271,000

by Calculated Risk on 8/27/2015 08:37:00 AM

From the BEA: Gross Domestic Product: First Quarter 2015 (Third Estimate)

Real gross domestic product -- the value of the goods and services produced by the nation's economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production, adjusted for price changes -- increased at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the second quarter of 2015, according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.6 percent.

The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the "advance" estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.3 percent. With the second estimate for the second quarter, nonresidential fixed investment and private inventory investment increased. ...
emphasis added
Here is a Comparison of Advance and Second Estimates. PCE growth was revised up from 2.9% to 3.1%. Residential investment was revised up from 6.6% to 7.8%.

Solid growth. And above the consensus of 3.2%.

The DOL reported:
In the week ending August 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 271,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 277,000. The 4-week moving average was 272,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 271,500.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims.
The previous week was unrevised at 277,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

Click on graph for larger image.


The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased to 272,500.

This was sligthly higher than the consensus forecast of 270,000, and the low level of the 4-week average suggests few layoffs.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Thursday: GDP, Unemployment Claims, Penidng Home Sales, Jackson Hole Symposium

by Calculated Risk on 8/26/2015 09:16:00 PM

From Tim Duy: Dudley Puts The Kibosh On September

Monday's action on Wall Street was too much for the Fed. That day, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart pulled back his previous dedication to a September rate hike earlier, reverting to only an expectation that rates rise sometimes this year. But today New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley explicitly called September into question. ...
...
Bottom Line: The Fed has long argued that the timing of the first rate hike does not matter. I had thought so as well, but that is clearly no longer the case. A rate hike during a period of substantial financial market turmoil would matter a great deal. It looks like the Fed's plans to raise rate will once again be overtaken by events.
I think the Fed is still data dependent, and the key will be if inflation picks up. This model is interesting, and suggests a slight pickup in inflation later this year and into 2016.

Thursday:
• All day: the Kansas City Fed Hosts Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday).

• At 8:30 AM, Gross Domestic Product, 2nd quarter 2015 (second estimate). The consensus is that real GDP increased 3.2% annualized in Q2, revised up from 2.3% in the advance estimate.

• At 8:30 AM, the initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for 270 thousand initial claims, down from 277 thousand the previous week.

• At 10:00 AM, Pending Home Sales Index for July. The consensus is for a 1.0% increase in the index.

• At 11:00 AM, the Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey for August.

Last Week: Key Measures Show Low Inflation in July

by Calculated Risk on 8/26/2015 06:01:00 PM

While I was on vacation, there were several key economic releases. Here is the CPI release ...

Last week the Cleveland Fed released the median CPI and the trimmed-mean CPI this morning:

ccording to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the median Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% (1.8% annualized rate) in July. The 16% trimmed-mean Consumer Price Index also rose 0.2% (1.9% annualized rate) during the month. The median CPI and 16% trimmed-mean CPI are measures of core inflation calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland based on data released in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) monthly CPI report.

[Last week], the BLS reported that the seasonally adjusted CPI for all urban consumers rose 0.1% (1.6% annualized rate) in July. The CPI less food and energy also rose 0.1% (1.6% annualized rate) on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Note: The Cleveland Fed has the median CPI details for July here. Motor fuel was down sharply in July.

Inflation Measures Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the year-over-year change for these four key measures of inflation. On a year-over-year basis, the median CPI rose 2.3%, the trimmed-mean CPI rose 1.7%, and the CPI less food and energy rose 1.8%. Core PCE is for June and increased 1.3% year-over-year.

On a monthly basis, median CPI was at 1.8% annualized, trimmed-mean CPI was at 1.9% annualized, and core CPI was at 1.6% annualized.

On a year-over-year basis these measures suggest inflation remains below the Fed's target of 2% (median CPI is above 2%).

Inflation is still low.