Topic: Business Conditions

Weekly Data Portend Weak Retail Sales

– April 14, 2020

Retail sales are collapsing as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The U.S. entered a recession in March ending the record long expansion.

Business Conditions

April 2020 Business Conditions Monthly

– April 13, 2020

Despite the continued modestly positive reading for the Leading Indicator index, the U.S. economy likely contracted in March, ending the longest U.S. economic expansion on record.

Business Conditions

Consumer Sentiment Collapses Amid Massive Job Loss

– April 9, 2020

The unprecedented economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is crushing the labor market and consumer sentiment.

Business Conditions

Historic Drop in Small-Business Optimism As COVID-19 Spreads

– April 8, 2020

Small-business confidence plunged in March as COVID-19 stifled expectations.

Business Conditions

Auto Sales Plunge in March

– April 6, 2020

Auto sales plunged in March providing more evidence of the dramatic impact of COVID-19 and supporting the near-certainty that the U.S. has entered recession.

Business Conditions

Recession May Have Begun for the U.S. Economy

– April 3, 2020

U.S. nonfarm payrolls plunged by 701,000 jobs in March, and with record-shattering initial claims suggesting more job losses to come, a U.S. recession is a near certainty.

Business Conditions

Unemployment Claims Surpass Great Recession

– April 2, 2020

The unprecedented economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is crushing the labor market.

Business Conditions

Manufacturing-Sector Contracts in March; Recession Probability Rising

– April 1, 2020

The ISM PMI dropped below neutral in March suggesting a contraction in manufacturing and rising probability of recession.

Business Conditions

COVID-19 Is Hurting Consumer Attitudes

– March 31, 2020

Consumer attitudes deteriorated sharply in March and are likely to show further declines in coming months as layoffs rise and economic activity plunges.