Retail and food service sales for October were $718.9 billion, an increase of 0.4% in the previous month, the Commerce Department said today in its advance estimate. Sales were up 2.8% from a year ago. Excluding automobiles and gasoline, sales were up 0.1% from the previous month and up 3.8% from last year.
With the cost of housing rising and housing construction slowing down, shelter could keep headline CPI elevated past the Fed's 2% target.
More than half of Americans know friends and family members who have been victims of scams, according to a new survey by the credit scoring services firm FICO.
The U.S. banking system remains sound and resilient, with strong asset quality and earnings, but pockets of elevated risk pose challenges for some banks with commercial real estate remaining an area of concern, the Federal Reserve said.
Industrial production decreased 0.3% in October from the previous month, the Federal Reserve reported. The October figure was also down 0.3% from a year prior.
Though the GOP sweep of the House and Senate portends good things for bank-friendly policy, there is still a lot of work to do on both sides of the aisle. Agriculture issues should see movement in new Congress.
The rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.78% this week. The rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.99%.
