Posted on 04/29/2024 12:46:32 PM PDT by Kaiser8408a
Dallas … and the US economy … after midnight.
The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Outlook survey has now been in contraction (below zero) every month since May 2022, falling modestly to -14.5 in April (worse than the -11.2 expected).
New Orders also remain negative (but did improve) and prices continue to rise (though at a slower pace). Labor market measures suggested flat employment and slightly shorter workweeks (hours worked index remained negative for a seventh month in a row) this month.
However, wit that said, wage pressure picked up dramatically this week to a seven-month high…
Source: Bloomberg
However, as always, we glean the most informative perspective from the respondents completed surveys where the pessimism shines through…
The business and political environment is terrible. Business has not been this slow since COVID, and I’m worried. Consumer confidence for consumer goods has noticeably worsened. Customer orders have dropped. The indication is the economy is hurting spending in our area specifically. Customer uncertainty is worsening. I keep thinking we’ll hit bottom and either level out or turn up, but we keep pushing those hopes out a month, and another month, and another.
(Excerpt) Read more at confoundedinterest.net ...
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