The Manufacturing PMI (formerly the ISM Manufacturing Index) is derived from a survey of purchasing managers and their outlook on overall conditions by looking at factors such as orders for durable goods, industrial production, and hiring. It gives a general direction rather than the specific strength of the factory sector and manufacturing activity in the U.S. A reading above 50 …
International Trade Balance
The US international trade balance is compiled by America’s Customs Agency and represents the value of all goods traded between the US and foreign nations. The balance is then calculated by subtracting total imports from total exports. A negative balance means that imports are more than exports, a positive trade balance means that exports are greater than imports. The international …
Gross Domestic Product
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the broadest measure of economic activity within a country and measures the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country over a certain period. There are four components GDP is created from: investment (including residential and nonresidential expenditures), consumption (including durable goods, non-durable goods, and services spending), government spending, and net …
Equity markets have taken a bit of a beating
The equity markets have taken a bit of a beating over the past week on the backs of the Coronavirus. Some of this is justified, some is not. As per our previous update, this virus continues to have a negative impact on supply chains. Anyone manufacturing in China will be impacted by the slowdown in the supply. The numbers behind …
What is the Coronavirus going to bring us?
The current outbreak of the Coronavirus has brought me back to a book I read last summer called Get Well Soon, History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes who Fought Them. What was fascinating about the book was not necessarily the disease, but how humanity reacted to them. The world has lived through the nastiness of leprosy, polio, syphilis, and even …
ISM Manufacturing Index
The ISM Manufacturing Index is derived from a survey of purchasing managers and their outlook on overall conditions by looking at factors such as orders for durable goods, industrial production and hiring. It gives a general direction rather than the specific strength of the factory sector and manufacturing activity in the U.S. A reading above 50 is an indicator that …
The Market is Not Always Rational
When the market goes up, it is said, it takes the stairs; when the market goes down, it takes the elevator. Today’s market performance was a result of the President’s tweet indicating that he will add an additional 10% to $300 billion in imports from China. We quickly do the calculation and figure that adds up to $30 billion. (How …
ISM Non-Manufacturing Index
The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index helps determine the overall economic strength of the services sector. Components evaluated are employment, business activity, new orders, and supplier deliveries; which are then compiled into an index. The nonmanufacturing sector represents a much larger share of the overall U.S. economy when compared to the manufacturing sector, making up approximately 80%; the sector’s economic weight makes …