Comments based on information available as of 5:15 am CT on 6/12/2026 Growth: Hiring Through The Gloom If you only read the surveys, you’d think the expansion was over. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell to 95.3 in May, its weakest reading since October...
Comments based on information available as of 5:00 am CT on 6/5/2026 Growth: A Rare Bright Spot? While consumers are feeling pressure and service-sector momentum is softening, manufacturing offered a rare bright spot. The ISM Manufacturing Index for May came in better...
April showers bring May flowers. There were not a lot of showers in April, but the flowers seemed to bloom in May anyway. May was about investing despite the noise as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pushed to fresh record highs even as inflation ran hot, the Iran conflict...
Comments based on information available as of 5:15 am CT on 5/29/2026 Growth: the shock absorbers are mostly gone. A few months ago, consumers had some nice economic shock absorbers: the anticipation of generous tax refunds and a modest savings rate. This spring,...
Comments based on information available as of 5:15 am CT on 5/15/2026 Growth: Something’s Got to Give Retail sales rose +0.5% in April, but excluding gasoline, sales only rose 0.3%. During that same period, inflation excluding energy was +0.4%, so real spending...
