by Up a bit this month but as per the chart it’s bumping along at recession type levels: Highlights It’s not housing that drove construction spending up a very sharp 1.4 percent in October but non-residential activity which had been lagging in this report. Spending on private non-residential construction jumped 0.9 percent in the month with strength centered in office construction and transportation construction. Despite the improvement, year-on-year spending on the non-residential side is still negative, at minus 1.3 percent. Public building also had a strong month with educational building up 10.9 percent for a standout year-on-year rate of 14.6 percent. Spending on highways & streets was also strong in October, up 1.1 percent though still down on the year, at minus 8.5
Topics:
WARREN MOSLER considers the following as important: Uncategorized
This could be interesting, too:
Merijn T. Knibbe writes Christmas thoughts about counting the dead in zones of armed conflict.
Lars Pålsson Syll writes Mainstream distribution myths
Dean Baker writes Health insurance killing: Economics does have something to say
Lars Pålsson Syll writes Debunking mathematical economics
Up a bit this month but as per the chart it’s bumping along at recession type levels:
Highlights
It’s not housing that drove construction spending up a very sharp 1.4 percent in October but non-residential activity which had been lagging in this report. Spending on private non-residential construction jumped 0.9 percent in the month with strength centered in office construction and transportation construction. Despite the improvement, year-on-year spending on the non-residential side is still negative, at minus 1.3 percent. Public building also had a strong month with educational building up 10.9 percent for a standout year-on-year rate of 14.6 percent. Spending on highways & streets was also strong in October, up 1.1 percent though still down on the year, at minus 8.5 percent.
Residential spending has been leading this report but October was moderate, up 0.4 percent overall and held back by a 1.6 percent decline for multi-units. But home improvements were strong in the month, up 1.4 percent for an 8.7 percent yearly rate. Total residential spending is up a year-on-year 7.4 percent with spending on new single-family homes up a very significant 8.9 percent.
But new homes aside, overall construction spending is up only 2.9 percent which is a very moderate total that evokes this week’s Beige Book where modest-to-moderate still dominated the description of the economy.
This is not adjusted for inflation:
Seems to go up when the price of oil goes up…
Looks like we’ve crossed the line?
Keeps getting worse:
Flynn says Trump transition official told him to make contact with Russians
As part of a plea deal, former national security adviser Michael Flynn has admitted that a senior member of the Trump transition team directed him to make contact with Russian officials in December 2016.
Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to the FBI, becoming the first official who worked in the Trump White House to make a guilty plea so far in a wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
The government did not reveal the identity of the senior transition official.