Highlights of key economic statistics from last week compiled by Putnam Investments.
- Industrial production fell 1.3% in September, the Federal Reserve stated.
- Housing starts fell 1.6% in September compared with August, the Census Bureau found.
- Existing home sales jumped 7.0% in September compared with August, according to the National Association of Realtors.
- Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 290,000 in the week ended October 16, 2021, the Department of Labor stated.
- As of October 19, 2021, of the 57 S&P 500 Index companies reporting third-quarter earnings, 47 beat analysts’ estimates, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
- The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index showed builder confidence climbed higher in October.
- The euro area annual inflation rate rose to 3.4% in September from 3.0% in August, Eurostat found.
- The European Commission’s Flash Consumer Confidence Indicator for the euro area edged down in October.
- Germany’s Federal Statistical Office noted industrial producer prices rose 2.3% in September compared with August.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose.
- Divergent vaccination rollout timelines and virus mutations risk could cause a shift from a synchronized global recovery to a more fractured regional, multispeed recovery.
- Global leverage, created by pandemic response packages, is at worrisome levels and will eventually need to be paid for.
- Upward pressure on inflation from multiple fronts (energy prices, housing costs and the labor market) could pressure central banks to pull forward their timelines for monetary policy normalization.
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