Economy.com Daily Update: October 20, 2016

Today's Economy

An extension of the bank's asset purchase programs is coming, but it may have to be creative.

September sales rose, but residential investment is headed for a third quarter decline.

The bank didn’t signal any future monetary policy steps at its October meeting.

Slack remains in the Australian labour market.

Commentary

Do our networks of relationships determine income, or vice versa?

Japanese inflation unlikely to reach BoJ target any time soon.

Labor markets deteriorate in South America amid an ongoing economic downturn.

Sluggish global demand is one cause of weak capital expenditure.

Today's Economic Indicators

Germany
Producer Price Index
Sep. 2016: -1.4%
Producer prices fell 1.4% y/y in September, following a 1.6% drop in the previous month.

Euro Zone
Balance of Payments
Aug. 2016: €23.6 bil
The euro zone's current account surplus expanded to €23.6 billion in August, not seasonally adjusted, from €20.8 billion a year earlier.

Spain
Foreign Trade
Aug. 2016: -€2.6 bil
Spain’s monthly trade deficit narrowed to €2.6 billion in August from the €3.2 million recorded for the same month last year.

United Kingdom
Retail Sales
Sep. 2016: 4.08%
U.K. retail sales fell short of both market and our expectations and rose by 4.1% y/y in September, down from an upwardly revised 6.6% y/y increase in the previous month.

Euro Zone
Monetary Policy
Oct. 2016: 0%
The European Central Bank kept all three policy rates and monthly asset purchases unchanged in October.

United States
Moody's Analytics Beige Book Index
Sep. 2016: 91.7
The Moody's Analytics Beige Book Index came in with a rating of 91.7 for October's edition of the Federal Reserve report, bouncing back after falling in September.

United States
Jobless Claims
October 15: 260,000
We can’t glean too much about the health of the job market from the latest data on initial claims.

United States
Philadelphia Fed Survey
Oct. 2016: 9.7
The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey remained in positive territory in October.

Indonesia
Monetary Policy
Oct. 2016: 4.75%
B

United States
Median usual weekly earnings
2016Q3: 3.0%
The presence of a noticeable acceleration in wage growth suggests that the U.S. economy is nearing full employment.

United States
Existing-Home Sales
Sep. 2016: 5.47 mil
Existing-home sales rebounded strongly in September, coming in above expectations.

United States
St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index
October 14: -1.136
The St.

United States
Conference Board Leading Indicators
Sep. 2016: 0.2%
The Conference Board index of leading indicators rose 0.2% in September, reversing August’s decline.

United States
Natural Gas Storage Report
October 14: 77 bil cubic feet
Natural gas inventories rose by slightly more than analysts were expecting, which will put downward pressure on natural gas prices.

United States
SEMI Book-to-Bill Ratio
Sep. 2016: