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By Robert Hughes Industrial production increased 0.6 percent in August, following a 0.1 percent drop in July. Over the past year, industrial production is up 0.4 percent (see top chart). The gain helped push capacity utilization up by 0.2 percentage points to 78.1 percent as capacity poste...
Agco ( AGCO +1.9% ) and Oshkosh ( OSK +1.4% ) are upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at J.P. Morgan, as the U.S. machinery sector still lags the broader market YTD but has outperformed since Labor Day amid a rotation into cyclicals. More news on: AGCO Corporation, Oshkosh Corporatio...
It was framed as a good news/bad news sort of situation. For many, the entire issue of possible recession revolves around the service sector. As far as manufacturing goes, no one will argue otherwise; it's already in trouble. But it's a much smaller slice of overall economic activity, and unle...
The trade war between the world’s two largest economies entered its 18th month in September with the U.S. imposing fresh 15 percent tariffs on $125 billion worth of goods imported from China. China retaliated in kind, but a breakthrough could happen sooner rather than later. According t...
By Robert Hughes The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index from the Institute for Supply Management fell below neutral for the first time in almost three years, registering a 49.1 percent reading in August, down 2.1 points from 51.2 in July. The index is at the lowest reading since Janua...
It should not be surprising to learn that Trump's tariff war with China is having a negative impact on the US economy and global trade. Tariffs inhibit trade, and most of the tariff hikes to date have been directed at manufactured goods. The latest data show just how much this impact has been,...
The growing odds for a recession in the US and around the world could impact the prices of markets across all asset classes. The escalating trade war between the US and China threatens a ripple effect across the globe. At the same time, the deadline for the UK's departure from the EU is at the...
Revised estimates from the Federal Reserve are beginning to suggest another area for concern in the US economy. There hadn't really been all that much supply side capex activity taking place to begin with. Despite the idea of an economic boom in 2017, businesses across the whole economy just h...
By Robert Hughes Retail sales and food services spending rose 0.7 percent in July, following a 0.3 percent gain in June. Excluding the volatile auto and energy categories, core retail sales and food services were up 0.9 percent in July after a gain of 0.6 percent in June. Both categories h...
Lumber futures are highly illiquid, making them a market to watch and not to trade. With the total open interest of only 2,751 contracts on August 7 and fewer than 1000 contracts changing hands on an average day, the market can become highly volatile when it moves. Markets with limited liquidi...