Economic Statistics for 13 Mar 12
The following statistics were released today on the state of the US economy:
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 94.3, the sixth straight month of increases for the index.
Retail sales rose 1.1% in February. Less autos, sales were up 0.9%, and ex-autos and gas, sales rose 0.6%.
Business inventories rose 0.7% in January, keeping the stock-to-sales ratio unchanged at 1.27.
The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index rose 0.7% in February, following a drop of -1.7% in January. Even with the February increase, the PCI is indicating that the economy is still weaker than other indicators seem to show.
In weekly retail sales, Redbook reports same store sales were up by 3.3% over last year. Meanwhile, ICSC-Goldman reports weekly sales rose 0.7% for the week, and were up 2.3% over last year.
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Dale Franks
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So, will this be a good test of animal spirits? The media drumbeat of “recovery” along with some good numbers, but not awesome number would act as a bootstrap if that theory is correct. I’ve had some work done on my house and the working guys all say business is getting better.
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