Consumer durability has sector on solid footing. Store-based retail sales in April — which exclude purchases made online and at restaurants and bars — ranked as the second-highest total on record. While inflation and consumers’ prioritization of groceries played a large role, the onset of spring also had an impact. [...]
Although the rapid rise of interest rates since March 2022 has placed pressure on real estate investors, the commercial property sector as a whole is generally well-positioned as of early 2024. Delinquency metrics trail previous highs, lenders are generally working with borrowers, and financial institutions broadly have a manageable exposure [...]
Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.6 percent during the first quarter of 2024. While this is a deceleration from the 3.4 percent rate from the final quarter of last year, the economy still grew in several areas. U.S. residents continued to spend robustly, with final [...]
Consistent spending and foot traffic at grocery stores over the past 24 months has the sector in a position of strength. While consolidation and increasing competition from discount retailers are concerns, regionality and strong tenant demand remain apparent. These dynamics, along with tight vacancy and limited construction, will benefit owners [...]
Consumers set a new benchmark for quarterly retail sales volume in the first three months of 2024 — roughly $1.55 trillion. Spending during the January-March span was up 3 percent when compared to the same period last year, despite slackening consumer confidence. This recent rise in spending occurred alongside consumers [...]
Unexpected Jump in Prices May Push Rate Cut Timeline Mounting costs for gasoline and electricity kept overall inflation elevated over the 12-month period ending in March. The headline CPI measure grew by 3.5 percent during the span, ticking up as the energy index moved into positive territory for the first [...]
While the 2.2 percent year-over-year gain in total core retail sales reported in February failed to match the 3.8 percent rise in core CPI, three key categories bucked this trend. Rising sales amid moderating or falling prices point to what purchases households are prioritizing amid tightening budgets. Factoring in inflation, [...]
Still-elevated inflation is leading Wall Street participants to delay expectations for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates this year — shifting from spring to summer. Alongside strong hiring in the opening months of 2024, February's higher headline CPI reading contributed to the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to [...]
Employment growth accelerated in February with 275,000 jobs created, yet the unemployment rate also rose by 20 basis points to 3.9 percent. While the highest rate of unemployment in 25 months may be interpreted as a negative signal, in this case some labor market softening could be a positive sign, [...]
In January, for the first time since March of last year, core retail sales fell on a monthly basis, a reflection of more consumers avoiding big-ticket, discretionary purchases. The 0.5 percent decline in core spending, however, overshadowed sales at restaurants and bars, as well as grocery stores, which each rose [...]
