Last week was quiet on the economic update front, with the weekly initial jobless claims report serving as the only major data release. The number of initial unemployment claims fell by more than expected, but the Christmas holiday may have led to some volatility in the reporting. This week will be a busier one for updates, with a look at December’s business confidence and employment reports serving as potential highlights.

As expected, we have seen a pullback in many pandemic indicators over the Christmas holidays. We are also, again as expected, starting to see the data bounce back, indicating the drop was more due to slower reporting than an actual decline in cases. Looking forward, holiday travel may well give us another surge, so take the current better news with a grain of salt. While a peak is coming, we are not through this wave yet, despite encouraging signs from the Midwest.

Last week’s economic updates largely pointed to a slowing economic recovery as we headed into the end of the year. The evidence includes a drop in personal spending in November, falling consumer confidence, and continued high levels of weekly layoffs. There were some signs for optimism, however, as business investment remained resilient and housing sales stayed strong on a year-over-year basis. Due to the holidays, this week will be very quiet, with only the weekly initial jobless claims report set to be released.

Last week’s data releases largely showed a slowing economic recovery, as evidenced by declining retail sales figures for October and November and a disappointing rise in initial jobless claims. With that being said, the housing sector remains healthy and manufacturing continues to show signs of improvement. This will be a busy week for economic updates, with reports scheduled that touch on consumer confidence, home sales, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending.

Yesterday I appeared on Yahoo Finance’s Live to discuss the current market and outlook for 2021. Listen in to hear more.

Last week was relatively quiet in terms of economic updates, with a focus on the November inflation reports, the weekly initial jobless claims report, and the first look at consumer sentiment in December. The consumer sentiment report was the highlight during the week, as consumer confidence unexpectedly rose to start off December. This week, we’ll see more updates. The November retail sales and industrial production reports are set to be released, as are updates on home builder confidence and new home construction.

Last week saw a number of economic updates, with a focus on business confidence, the November jobs report, and October’s international trade report. This week will be relatively quiet, with November’s inflation reports and a first look at consumer sentiment in December serving as highlights.

Last week, a number of important economic data releases came in with mixed results. Disappointing consumer confidence reports and rising initial unemployment claims provided a contrast for better-than-expected reports on October durable goods orders and personal spending. This week will be another busy one for updates, with November’s business confidence and employment reports serving as highlights.

Last week saw a number of important economic data releases, with a disappointing October retail sales report and strong housing market updates serving as highlights. This week will be busy, as well as holiday-shortened, with a focus on November’s consumer confidence reports, the first look at durable goods orders in October, and the monthly personal income and spending reports.

Last week was relatively quiet on the economic update front, with a focus on October’s inflation reports, the weekly initial claims report, and the first look at consumer confidence in November. This week will be busier, with releases on retail sales, industrial production, and housing.