Personal income increased $116.6 billion (0.6 percent) in December according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $111.6 billion (0.6 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $27.9 billion (0.2 percent).
Real DPI increased 0.2 percent in December and Real PCE decreased 0.6 percent. The PCE price index increased 0.4 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.3 percent .The increase in personal income was above expectations, and the decrease in PCE was also above expectations
The December PCE price index increased 1.3 percent year-over-year and the December PCE price index, excluding food and energy, increased 1.5 percent year-over-year.
The following graph shows real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) since January 2019 through December 2020 (2012 dollars). Note that the y-axis doesn t start at zero to better show the change.
2020 was the worst year for economic growth since the Second World War
By The Washington Post
By Rachel Siegel, Andrew Van Dam, Erica Werner
The U.S. economy shrank by 3.5% in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged factories, businesses and households, pushing U.S. economic growth to a low not seen since the U.S. wound down war-time spending in 1946.
Overall, the economy was surprisingly resilient in the second half of the year, given the fall-off at the start of the public health crisis, according to data released Thursday from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Yet, the 1-percent growth in the fourth quarter signaled a faltering recovery and a long road ahead with 9.8 million jobs still missing and 23.8 million adults struggling to feed their families.
Provided by Dow Jones
By Anna Hirtenstein U.S. stock futures fell as retail investors buoyed GameStop and other shares, pointing to a volatile end to 2021 s first month of trading. Futures tied to the S&P 500 declined 0.6%, suggesting a reversal in direction after a nearly 1% rise Thursday. Those linked to the Nasdaq-100 retreated 0.9%. Shares of GameStop soared over 100% premarket, after closing down 44% Thursday. AMC Entertainment was up more than 55% ahead of the opening bell. Robinhood Markets, a popular venue for online traders, said late Thursday it would reinstate some trading in stocks that it had curbed earlier. American Airlines climbed 12% premarket.
NEW YORK, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday as retail trading frenzy rattled investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 620.74 points, or 2.03 percent, to 29,982.62, the first time the 30-stock gauge has closed below the 30,000 mark since Dec. 14. The S&P 500 fell 73.14 points, or 1.93 percent, to 3,714.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 266.46 points, or 2.00 percent, to 13,070.69. All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors pulled back in morning trading, with energy down 3.39 percent, leading the losses. U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower with eight of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.
Ed MorrisseyPosted at 3:10 pm on January 28, 2021
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And that might create more problems than it solves for Joe Biden and the Democrats. Republicans continue to balk at Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion relief/stimulus bill dealing with COVID-19 and economic issues, in large part because it’s only been a month since Congress authorized an additional $900 billion-plus in relief and stimulus spending. While some Senate Republicans have expressed interest in certain pieces of the Biden proposal, the entire caucus remains opposed to passing it in total.
Democrats had considered trying to pass it in pieces, but that looks as though it’s going nowhere now. Nor does the White House or Chuck Schumer want to consider going with a less expensive option: