The following statistics were released today on the state of the US economy:

Personal income rose 0.5% in June, but personal spending was unchanged. The PCE price index rose 0.1% for the month, up 1.5% from last year. The Core PCE price index rose 0.2% for the month, and 1.8% over last year.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index improved slightly in July to 94.0, which, at below the 100 level, indicates a demand for safety.

Consumer Confidence for July came in at 65.9 on the index, indicating confidence is still bumping along the bottom.

The Chicago PMI rose 0.8 in July to 53.7, indicating slightly faster growth in the Chicago area than last month. This report is usually seen as an indicator of the national PMI, which will be released tomorrow.

Home prices posted a strong jump in May according to S&P Case-Shiller, which shows a seasonally adjusted 0.9% increase. But, on a year-over-year basis, prices are down -0.7%.

The Employment Cost Index rose a relatively subdued 0.5% in the 2nd Quarter. Year-over-year, the ECI is up a moderate 1.7%.

In weekly retail sales, Redbook shows a very weak 1.1% year-over-year sales increase. ICSC-Goldman Store Sales showed a disappointing -1.7% decline in sales from last week, with a year-over-year sales increase of only 1.8%.

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Dale Franks
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