Housing & Economy

Consumer Economics

Crocs reaches record annual revenue of nearly US$$3.96B, up 11.5% from US$3.55B a year ago, with net income up nearly 47% to US$792.6M from US$540.2M; however, company says there are question marks around global macro backdrop, broader consumer health
Retail Dive (02/16)

University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment posted a preliminary February level of 79.6, up from 79.0 in January; consumers expressed confidence that the slowdown in inflation and strength in labor markets would continue
University of Michigan (02/16)

Employee Compensation & Benefits

Canadian Pacific Kansas City files Notice of Dispute with Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Canada to negotiate collective agreements with Teamsters Canada Rail Conference; expired agreements remain in effect until parties reach new deals
Canada Newswire (02/16)

US Forest Service Chief tells employees to expect lower appropriated funds for 2024 budget; 'We've been planning for that reality,' but recent pay raise, higher operating costs means agency is facing funding gaps for salaries, IT needs, other expenses
U.S. Forest Service (02/16)

Employee Well-Being / Satisfaction

In survey of 600 US factory or plant workers, more than half say they would take a pay cut to work for a more tech-driven factory; survey also shows declining morale and a reduced commitment by employers to upskilling programs, technology investments
Business Wire (02/15)

Brenntag Mexico announces certification as a Great Place to Work by the Great Place to Work Institute Mexico; recognition reflects commitment to excellence in the work environment and the well-being of the employees
Brenntag Inc. (02/14)

GDP

UK GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.3% in Q4 following a decrease of 0.1% in Q3; there was a decrease in the volume of net trade, household spending and government consumption in Q4, partially offset by an increase in gross capital formation: ONS
UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) (02/15)

UK GDP estimated to have decreased 0.1% in December following a growth of 0.2% in November; services output fell by 0.1%, production output grew by 0.6%: ONS
UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) (02/15)

Energy Indicators / Energy Costs

US national gas price average surged 12 cents to US$3.27 in week ended Feb. 15 and was 21 cents higher month-over-month; gas demand fell to 8.17 million b/d from 8.81 million b/d last week, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 3.7 million bbl: AAA
American Automobile Association (AAA) (02/15)

US commercial crude oil inventories in week ended Feb. 9 increased by 12.0 million barrels from the previous week to 439.5 million barrels; inventories are about 2% below the five year average for this time of year: EIA
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (02/14)

Employment Statistics & Trends

Uber, Lyft drivers across US, Canada began strikes demanding better pay conditions, affecting travel to, from 10 cities' airports; data indicates that real wage for driver in California is US$6.20/hour, US$9.63 in Seattle and US$5.49 in Denver
CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America) (02/15)

US unemployment insurance claims in week ended Feb. 10 decreased by 8,000 to 212,000, four-week moving average up 5,750 to 218,500; total continued weeks claimed for benefits decreased by 52,269 to 2.16 million in week ended Jan. 27: Dept. of Labor
U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) (02/15)

Interest Rates

US 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.77% as of Feb. 15, up from 6.64% a week ago; 30-year FRM averaged 6.32% a year ago: Freddie Mac
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) (02/15)

Investor home purchases drop 11% but low-priced US homes fuel high demand, investors purchased 13.6% of mid-priced homes and 15.9% of high-priced homes; Some investors turning to other investments due to high interest rates, sluggish rental market: Redfin
Business Wire (02/14)

Inflation

US Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.3% in January, seasonally adjusted driven by a 0.6% rise in prices for final demand services; final demand index increased 0.9% year-over year: BLS
U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) (02/16)

Aptar President and CEO Stephan Tanda joins Bloomberg Markets on Feb. 12 to share insights on the pharma space as well as US consumer spending during a more muted inflationary period; full interview available online
AptarGroup Inc. (02/15)

Housing Starts

US privately‐owned housing starts in January fell 14.8% from December to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,331,000, 0.7% lower annually; building permits rose 8.6% annually to 1,470,000, housing completions up 2.8% to 1,416,000: Dep. of Commerce
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (02/16)

Home Ownership

Redfin report reveals homeownership tenure has declined since 2020 peak due to the pandemic, with majority of US homeowners having lived in their homes for nearly 12 years; aging baby boomers and limited housing inventory are key factors in this trend
Redfin Corp. (02/14)

Mortgages / Home Financing

US mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 19.1% year-over-year in January, up 38.0% month-over-month; average loan size decreased to US$401,282 in January from US$405,368 in December: Mortgage Bankers Assn.
Mortgage Bankers Association (02/16)

US mortgage applications decreased 2.3% in week ended Feb. 9 from one week earlier; Refinance Index decreased 2.0%, Purchase Index decreased 3.0%: Mortgage Bankers Assn
Mortgage Bankers Association (02/14)

New Homes

US builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes increased by four points to 48 in February, the highest level since August 2023; single-family starts are expected to rise about 5% in 2024: NAHB
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) (02/16)

Residential Construction & Real Estate

Number of US home sales in January decreased 19.1% month-over-month, median home sales price was unchanged at US$405,000; for-sale home inventory fell 2.4% month-over-month but rose 1.7% year-over-year: Re/Max
Re/Max LLC (02/16)

Scion joins The Australian Research Council Advance Timber Hub; this five-year, AU$16.5 million research initiative was recently launched at The University of Queensland, Australia, to drive innovation in the Australian mid-rise building market
New Zealand Forest Research Institute (Scion) (02/15)

Commercial Construction & Real Estate

VW's Scout Motors starts construction of US$2.0B EV assembly plant in Blythewood, South Carolina; plant to create 4,000 jobs and produce over 200,000 vehicles annually, with production beginning by end of 2026
Autoblog (02/16)

Canada's investment in building rose 0.3% to C$19.8B in December as the residential sector grew 0.3% to C$13.8B, investment in non-residential sector up 0.3% to C$6.1B; investment in single-family homes fell 1.0%, multifamily up 1.6%: Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (02/15)

Corporate Management

Sylvamo earns 'A-' for leadership in environmental transparency and forests in 2023 from CDP, improving its 2022 grade; company also receives 'B-' in water security, after submitting its first water questionnaire, and 'C' grade in climate change
Sylvamo Corp. (02/16)

Becker's Hospital Review analyzes healthcare finance, leadership, and regulatory trends poised to influence the industry in 2024
Industry Intelligence Inc. (02/16)

Corporate Finance

Spinnova invites investors and analysts to its Capital Markets Day on March 14 at its headquarters in Jyvaskyla, Finland; company is offering live webcast and discussions on updated strategy from CEO Tuomas Oijala and the management team
Cision (02/16)

Constantia Flexibles to acquire approximately 57% of shares of Switzerland-based Aluflexpack from Montana Tech Components and Xoris; in parallel, Constantia will launch an all cash public tender offer for all publicly held registered shares of Aluflexpack
PR Newswire (02/16)

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

Elopak records strong growth for 2023, delivers on IPO targets
Elopak AS (02/15)

Initial Public Offering of Juniper Hotels Limited to open on February 21
Businessworld (India) (02/15)

Corporate Economics

UK Index of Services decreased 0.1% in December, the main negative contributor was wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; services output growth in Q4 was estimated to have fallen 0.2% when compared with Q3: ONS
UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) (02/15)

Trade Balance

Euro area international trade in goods recorded a surplus of €16.8B in December, compared with a deficit of €8.5B in December 2022; exports fell 8.8% to €218.7B, imports down 18.7% to €201.9B: Eurostat
Eurostat (02/15)

UK trade deficit widened by £6.2B to £14.9B in Q4; value of goods exports fell 2.2% in December due to lower exports to the EU, value of goods imports decreased 5.4% with declines in imports from both EU and non-EU countries: ONS
UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) (02/15)

Thousands   |   Latest: May/22

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 12/30/24

Total, Not Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 12/30/24

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 12/30/24

%   |   Latest: Jan/24

%   |   Latest: Jan/24

%   |   Latest: 02/15/24

Real/US$   |   Latest: 02/16/24

Index 1985=100   |   Latest: Jan/24

Leading Indicators

Interactive Chart: Click on legend/key to see full view on your dashboard

Interactive Chart: Click on legend/key to see full view on your dashboard

Sources: Industry Intelligence Inc.,Census Bureau