Bankinter | Consumer Confidence (March) disappoints, moderating to 92.9 against the 94.0 expected and 100.1 previous (revised from 98.3). It is at its lowest level since January 2021 and is the fourth consecutive month of decline. By components: (i) Current Situation: 134.5 versus 138.1 previous (revised from 136.5); (ii) Expectations: 65.2 versus 74.8 previous (revised from 72.9). (ii) Fed Richmond Manufacturing Activity Indicator (March): -4 versus 1 expected and 6…

Intermoney | Industrial production recovered in February, advancing by +0.7% m. (five tenths more than expected) while January’s was revised downwards by two tenths to 0.3%. The solid growth in manufacturing activity (0.9% month-on-month) together with mining production (2.8% month-on-month) meant that the fall in utilities (2.5% month-on-month) was not particularly noticeable, thanks to the mild temperatures compared to a particularly cold January. In the details of the data, the…

Norbolsa | Now that the budget extension has been dealt with over the weekend, the Republican Party is now focusing on the debate on how to implement the president’s tax plan. The debate centres on the ability to achieve the $1.5-2 trillion in spending savings over 10 years that is envisaged in the president’s programme. For a part of the Republican Party, in order to achieve these savings it is…

Link Securities | The Department of Labour reported that the US economy generated 151,000 net new non-agricultural jobs in February, up from the 125,000 jobs created in January (143,000, initial estimate), although somewhat below the 160,000 net jobs projected by FactSet consensus analysts. The December figure was revised upwards to 323,000 jobs from an initial estimate of 307,000 jobs. During the month, jobs were created in the healthcare sector (52,000…

Banca March | Consumer confidence in the United States disappoints. In January, the index produced by the Conference Board fell more than expected, dropping to 98.3 from 105.3 previously and well below the predicted 102.5. This decline in confidence was mainly explained by the deterioration of expectations, which fell by nearly 10 points to 72.9, reaching its lowest level since April last year. Thus, after closing 2024 with an increase…

Bankinter | University of Michigan consumer confidence (final figure) fell more than expected in February, to a 15-month low of 64.7 points versus 67.8 expected versus 71.1 previous. The fall occurred in both components of the index, both Current Situation (65.7 versus 68.7 preliminary versus 74.0 previous) and Expectations (64.0 versus 67.3 preliminary versus 69.3 previous). Opinion of the Bankinter analysis team: The decline in confidence comes at a time…