Income, Outlays
The US Bureau of Economic analysis released numbers on personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and income today before the stock market open. Even when adjusted for inflation, personal income rose 0.4% boosted by bonus payouts and gains on the exercising of stock options. However, personal expenditures remained relatively flat when adjusted for inflation (unadjusted figures rose 0.4%).
Bottom line: flat spending points to a slower economy.
Inflation Up
Inflation continues to remain a threat, with the PCE price index increasing 0.4% when food and energy are included, and 0.3% when excluding food and energy. I always look at the former - food and energy are volatile, but bottom line is that they are an expense that impacts consumers.
Bottom line: not good, inflation is never good for the market.
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