When they presented the California Association of Realtors 2019 Mid-Year Market Forecast this month, C.A.R. senior vice president and chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young and deputy chief economist Jordan Levine announced as of July, the U.S. was officially 10 years into its economic recovery period. The country has experienced the longest period of economic expansion on […]
U.S. inflation continued to recover in May from a sharp slowdown earlier this year, a trend that could ease the Federal Reserve’s worries about weak price pressures while potentially tempering investors’ hopes for an interest-rate cut next month. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the price index for personal-consumption expenditures, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.16% in […]
Apple Inc. is manufacturing its new Mac Pro computer in China, according to people familiar with its plans, shifting abroad production of what had been its only major device assembled in the U.S. as trade tensions escalate between the Trump administration and Beijing. The tech giant has tapped contractor Quanta Computer Inc. to manufacture the […]
A few things about summertime in California have become utterly predictable: cineplex superheroes, beach crowds and a record-setting state budget. Two years ago, we told you the state’s budget hit $180 billion—and that with that money you could buy the Los Angeles Lakers 60 times over. Last summer, the state budget set a new high […]
U.S. industrial production rose in May, a welcome sign of strength in the sector after a spate of weak readings this year. Industrial production, a measure of factory, mining and utility output, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in May from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal […]
An unprecedented haul of tax dollars generated by a roaring economy. A governor who campaigned on a big-ticket policy agenda of long-time lefty favorites, including universal childcare and state-funded healthcare for all. A Legislature so thoroughly packed with Democrats it gives rise to a new term—”giga-majority.” Californians could be forgiven for expecting it all to […]
California lawmakers passed a $214.8 billion budget deal Thursday, with new spending on schools, homelessness and health care for undocumented immigrants. The budget relies on a surplus to add billions to the state’s reserves funds, which will bring the state’s total so-called rainy day fund to $19 billion. It puts hundreds of millions of dollars […]
Economic activity in the Twelfth District continued to expand at a moderate pace during the reporting period of midNovember through December. Conditions in the labor market remained tight, and wage growth was moderate. Price inflation was flat. Sales of retail goods expanded moderately, while activity in consumer and business services was solid. Conditions in the […]
Employers tapped the brakes on hiring in May, signaling companies are taking a more cautious approach at a time of cooling global growth and trade tensions and adding to other signs of a spring slowdown in the decadelong U.S. economic expansion. The economy added 75,000 jobs in May, marking the 104th straight month of gains, […]
If your business is in California and you’re wondering if companies continue to leave the state, the answer is, “Yes, and anecdotal evidence is that the numbers are growing.” Before I identify the latest companies to depart California – 24 of them, which I’ve learned about only within the last three months – consider the […]
If President Trump follows through on his plan to impose an escalating tariff on all imports from Mexico, the impact to California’s economy would be huge. California exports more goods to Mexico than from any other state, accounting for 17% of all the state’s exports, according to the California Chamber of Commerce. And the value […]
California just took a major step in rewriting the rules of the gig economy. The state Assembly passed a bill Wednesday that would make it harder for companies to label workers as independent contractors instead of employees, a common practice that has allowed businesses to skirt state and federal labor laws. The bill will now […]
U.S. inflation picked up in April after a very weak start to the year, a development that could help to ease Federal Reserve officials’ recent concerns about tepid price pressures. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the price index for personal-consumption expenditures, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.31% in April from March and 1.51% from a year […]
Many American households remain financially fragile and uncertain about their retirement prospects despite a booming job market that is lifting wages, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Thursday. One-quarter of working individuals say they have no retirement savings at all, the survey said, and 44% worry that their saving isn’t on track. Among younger […]
Aiming to short-circuit an idea that has long captured the imagination, if not yet the votes, of legislators, a study backed by California Chamber of Commerce has found that adopting a business service tax—i.e., a tax on lawyers, accountants and consultants—would hurt the economy and put the state at a competitive disadvantage. The 56-page report […]