All is (not) forgiven

Week in Review: August 22-26

Mark Twain wrote that “forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it,” and the White House is smelling pretty floral this week. Anyway, let’s do this.

Monday

Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)

What recession? This index indicates that economic growth accelerated in July. All four categories—1) production and income; 2) employment, unemployment, and hours; 3) personal consumption and housing; and 4) sales, order, and inventories—improved and contributed to growth in July. This index is really, horribly complicated, but there’s rarely data releases on Monday, so we’re going to keep including it anyway.

Tuesday

S&P Global Composite Index

U.S. Private sector output fell at a faster rate in August according to these indices. The Composite Output Index and the Services Business Activity Index fell to a 27-month low, the Manufacturing Output Index fell to a 26-month low, and the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to a 25-month low. The upshot: these measures show a broad-based decline in business activity in August.

New Home Sales

New home sales fell in July, down 12.6% on a monthly basis and 29.6% on a yearly basis. I’ve said it before (and I’m sure I’ll have to say it again), higher borrowing costs are devastating the residential real estate market.

Wednesday

Student Loan Forgiveness