Some Good Economic News!

Here is a quick rundown of the latest econ releases and across the board something positive could be noted. 

• The manufacturing sector continued to expand with ten of eighteen industries reporting growth.
• The best news was that the new orders index rose out of contraction territory, hitting 51.3 in August after two consecutive readings below 50. Given that inflation-adjusted consumer spending shows that the actual amount of goods being purchased has been falling since early 2021, the resiliency in new orders is a positive surprise.  
• The prices paid index declined to 52.5 in August from 60.0 in July
• The ISM Manufacturing Index remained unchanged at 52.8 in August. (Levels higher than 50 signal expansion; levels below 50 signal contraction.)
• The employment index rose to 54.2 from 49.9.
• The supplier deliveries index falling for the fourth month in a row and hitting the lowest reading since before the COVID pandemic began  
• the top two home price indexes both show that June had the smallest monthly gains since mid-2020.
• On the employment front the figures suggest another month of solid job growth in August.
• Prices index in today’s report continued to signal that inflation pressures might have peaked, falling for the fifth month in a row to hit 52.5, the lowest level since the summer of 2020.

Standing by if I can be of assistance.