Housing & Economy

Consumer Economics

European Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicator in April fell 1.7 points from March to 105.0 in the euro area; worsening confidence in industry, retail trade, construction and among consumers
European Commission (05/02)

Employee Compensation & Benefits

Starbucks announces additional investments in partners and stores for prioritized areas such as increased pay, modernized training and collaboration, and store innovation, bringing the total investments to nearly US$1B in this fiscal year
Business Wire (05/03)

Sonic now offering on-demand direct pay to its employees via a partnership between Sonic licensee Great American Hospitality and DailyPay; through this partnership, hundreds of Sonic employees can now access their pay immediately after completing a shift
PR Newswire (05/03)

Employee Well-Being/Satisfaction

Workers around the world mark May Day, also known as International Workers' Day, with rallies for better working conditions; workers rally for better labor rights, immigration overhauls and other causes around social and economic equality
npr.org (05/02)

Illing Packaging named a 2022 Top Workplace by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the small business category; the company offers a variety of services including packaging design, supply, decoration and delivery
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (05/02)

Labor Scarcity/Skills Shortage

US construction spending numbers for March 'worse than they look,' with nonresidential spending down 0.8%; many contractors operating at capacity, wrestling with workforce skills shortages, sky-high materials prices: Associated Builders and Contractors
Associated Builders and Contractors (05/03)

Energy Indicators

US average on-highway diesel fuel price in week ended May 2 increased to US$5.509/gallon from US$5.160/gallon last week; average regular gasoline price increased to US$4.182/gallon from US$4.107/gallon: EIA
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (05/03)

US national gas price average increased seven cents to US$4.19 in week ended May. 2; fear of global energy supply disruptions due to the conflict in Ukraine outweighs demand concerns due to impact of COVID-19 on China's economy: AAA
American Automobile Association (AAA) (05/02)

Employment Statistics & Trends

Number of US job openings at series high of 11.5 million on last day of March, hires little changed at 6.7 million; separations rose to 6.3 million, quits edged up to series high of 4.5 million, layoffs and discharges little changed at 1.4 million: BLS
U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) (05/03)

Euro area unemployment at 6.8% in March, down from 6.9% in February and from 8.2% in March 2021; an estimated 11.274 million in the euro area were unemployed in March: Eurostat
Eurostat (05/03)

Interest Rates

Australia's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate from 0.1% to 0.35%, first rate hike in 11 years; inflation rose to highest annual rate since 2001 in year through March led by surge in fuel and housing costs, food shortages due to recent floods
Associated Press (05/03)

Inflation

Instacart partners with over 10 companies in Canada, including grocery and drugstore retailer Metro, discount store Giant Tiger; Instacart says adding discount retailers has been successful, especially as people seek better deals amid inflation
Canadian Press DataFile (05/03)

Coca-Cola India promoting returnable glass bottles once again after years of focusing on disposable PET bottles; the change helps the company reach out to more users and reduce packaging costs from inflation, a top company executive says
Mint (05/03)

Mortgages/Home Financing

Median sales price of US single-family existing homes up 15.7% to US$368,200 in Q1, with double-digit price appreciation in 70% of measured metros; typical monthly mortgage payment rose to US$1,383, or 18.7% of the median family income: NAR
National Association of Realtors (NAR) (05/03)

New Homes

Technology company PJET partners with Puration to build student housing from hemp; Puration's strategy with Farmersville Hemp Brand is aimed at disrupting US$600B global lumber market with industrial hemp solutions that support carbon-neutrality goals
Mcap MediaWire (05/03)

LGI Homes reports Q1 net income down 21.0% year-over-year to US$78.7M, home sales revenues fell 22.7% to US$546.1M, closings down 37.6% to 1,599 homes; CEO points to extended cycle times, delays in new communities as main constraints to closing more homes
LGI Homes Inc. (05/03)

Residential Construction & Real Estate

Phoenix, Tampa, Atlanta among most popular migration destinations despite having the highest inflation rates in the US; more than half of the variation in inflation rates between metro areas in 2021 can be explained by domestic migration: Redfin
Redfin Corp. (05/03)

Private US residential construction spending in March rose 18.4% from year ago, up 1.0% from February; single-family spending up 1.3% over February to US$472.6B, while multifamily spending fell 0.5% month-over-month, up 3.9% year-over-year: NAHB
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) (05/02)

Commercial Construction & Real Estate

AstraZeneca building 570,000 square-foot, purpose-built R&D center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to be completed in 2026; facility will house Alexion corporate headquarters, with Alexion’s R&D center of excellence remaining in New Haven, Connecticut
AstraZeneca AB (05/03)

Mohawk reports Q1 net earnings of US$245M, up from year-ago US$237M, on net sales up 13.0% to US$3.0B; CEO says results reflect higher pricing, growth in ceramic businesses, improving commercial sector and benefit from small acquisitions
Mohawk Industries Inc. (05/03)

Industrial Construction/Real Estate

Automotive interior systems company Summit Polymers building US$37.5M, 140,000 square-foot facility in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, to open in 2023; new plant to create 218 jobs
The Gleaner (05/03)

Corporate Management

Interfor acquires 16.2% interest in GreenFirst Forest Products for some C$56M, buying 28,684,433 common shares from Rayonier A.M. Canada for C$1.94/share; investment builds upon Interfor’s recent expansion into Eastern Canada through Eacom acquisition
Interfor Corp. (05/02)

BorgWarner VP, GM of North American Aftermarket Tania Wingfield receives 2022 STEP Ahead Award from Manufacturing Institute; Wingfield has over 25 years of automotive experience, serves as executive sponsor of BorgWarner’s Women in Leadership program
BorgWarner Inc. (05/02)

Corporate Financing

Constellation Brands announces pricing of US$1.85B worth of various senior notes; offering expected to close on May 9
Globe Newswire (05/02)

Rayonier Advanced Materials sells GreenFirst Forest Products shares to Interfor for about US$43.3M, will use cash proceeds to repay debt or assist with a holistic refinancing of its capital structure, including its senior notes due on June 1, 2024
Business Wire (05/02)

Corporate Economics

S&P Global / CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI in April rose to 55.8 from 55.2 in March, driven by increased intakes of new business, reduced delivery delays and efforts to clear work backlogs; input costs rose at second-strongest pace in survey history
Markit Economics Ltd. (05/03)

Growth in US manufacturing slowed in April despite easing supply chain disruptions and moderating input prices; ISM's monthly index of manufacturing activity in April fell to 55.4 from 57.1 in March
Reuters (05/02)

Thousands   |   Latest: Mar/22

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 04/23/22

Total, Not Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 04/23/22

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 04/23/22

%   |   Latest: Mar/22

%   |   Latest: Apr/22

%   |   Latest: 04/28/22

Real/US$   |   Latest: 05/03/22

Index 1985=100   |   Latest: Apr/22

Leading Indicators

Interactive Chart: Click on legend/key to see full view on your dashboard

Interactive Chart: Click on legend/key to see full view on your dashboard

Sources: Industry Intelligence Inc.,Census Bureau