News

U. S. economic growth cooled in the third quarter as firms let inventories dwindle and the pace of spending on the part of consumers, businesses and governments all decelerated.

U.S. consumer sentiment rebounded strongly in early October, suggesting that the economic recovery remained on track despite headwinds from a strong dollar and weak global demand that have weighed on the industrial sector, particularly manufacturing.

U.S. retail sales barely rose in September and producer prices recorded their biggest decline in eight months, raising further doubts about whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.

The gap reflected a drop-off in exports, due in part to lower oil prices, along with rising imports of consumer goods such as cellphones, toys and apparel. Imports climbed 1.2%, while exports fell 2% to their lowest level since October 2012.

U.S. exports of goods and services fell to $185.1 billion, the lowest level since October 2012. But the overall figure tells only part of the story. Overseas shipments of goods were the weakest in more than four years, while the figure for services was the highest on record.

The state’s exports of goods to foreign markets in August totaled $13.24 billion, down 9% from the $14.55 billion recorded in August 2014. By way of comparison, overall U.S. merchandise exports fell by 10.4% over the same period, while exports from Texas shrank by nearly one-fifth (19.1%).

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $48.3 billion in August, up $6.5 billion from $41.8 billion in July, revised. August exports were $185.1 billion, $3.7 billion less than July exports. August imports were $233.4 billion, $2.8 billion more than July imports.

“State personal income grew 0.9 percent on average in the second quarter of 2015, after growing 0.8 percent in the first quarter, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income grew in every state except Oklahoma in the second quarter. In the first quarter, personal income grew in 34 states. Second-quarter personal income growth rates ranged from zero in Oklahoma to 1.5 percent in the state of Washington.”

“Personal income increased $52.5 billion, or 0.3 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $47.1 billion, or 0.4 percent, in August, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $54.9 billion, or 0.4 percent.  In July, personal income increased $69.6 billion, or 0.5 percent, DPI increased $63.9 billion, or 0.5 percent, and PCE increased $45.7 billion, or 0.4 percent, based on revised estimates.”

“Real gross domestic product — the value of the goods and services produced by the nation’s economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production, adjusted for price changes — increased at an annual rate of 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2015, according to the “”third”” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.6 percent. . . In the second estimate, the increase in real GDP was 3.7 percent. With the third estimate for the second quarter, the general picture of economic growth remains the same; personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and nonresidential fixed investment increased more than previously estimated . . . “

“The technology-heavy San Francisco Bay Area almost single-handedly propped up California’s otherwise lethargic economic performance in 2014, a new report from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis indicates.”

Real GDP increased in 282 of the nation’s 381 metropolitan areas in 2014, led by growth in several industry groups: professional and business services, wholesale and retail trade, and the group of finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing. Natural resources and mining remained a strong contributor to growth in several metropolitan areas. Collectively, real GDP for U. S. metropolitan areas increased 2.3 percent in 2014 after increasing 1.9 percent in 2013.

The median sales price for new and existing houses and condominiums was $409,000, down 1.4 percent from a 7 1/2-year high of $415,000 in July but up 4.3 percent from $392,000 in August 2014, according to CoreLogic Inc. It was the 42nd straight month of annual price gains.

The official definition has changed little since its adoption 50 years ago, when its threshold was set as cash income equal to three times what a frugal family spent on food. A relatively new unofficial rate is based on a much wider definition of income, including the earned-income tax credit and noncash subsidies for housing, school lunch and home heating. It also adjusts income for taxes, child care, health insurance and out-of-pocket medical costs. The unofficial rate also reflects regional costs of living with different thresholds for renters and people with mortgages.

California growers took in more revenue in 2014 compared to the year before, although their profits declined by about 10 percent, according to new figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service and the Pacific Institute, a water policy think-tank.