ECONOMICS

Authored by Emel Akan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. economy embarked on a rollercoaster ride in 2023, grappling with high inflation, soaring interest rates, wars abroad, and a shaky banking sector.

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Shutterstock)

This time last year, the U.S. economy was bracing for an impending recession. Concerns about a recession persisted through 2023, particularly following the banking turmoil in the second quarter, which (more…)

After plunging in October, US Manufacturers New Orders were expected to rebound significantly in November as the noisiest time series in America continues to flip-flop (despite US Manufacturing surveys going in only one direction – lower). Sure enough, Factory Orders rose 2.6% MoM (+2.4% exp) and October's 3.6% decline was revised modestly hiugher to a 3.4% MoM decline. The 2.6% MoM jump is the biggest since January 2021 and dragged orders up 3.1% YoY…

Source: Bloomberg (more…)

Despite yesterday's Services PMI acceleration (as opposed to Manufacturing PMI's declines), analysts expected this morning's ISM Services survey print for December to slide lower (trending the same direction as the weakness in 'hard' data). Instead it tumbled from 52.7 to 50.6 (52.5 exp) – the lowest since May 2023…

Source: Bloomberg

“The services sector had a pullback in the rate of (more…)