CHART OF THE WEEK

 

 

The incoming Congress faces many challenges. One of the most critical is America’s looming debt crisis. CBO projects the debt-to-GDP ratio will reach 141% by 2046.

Recently, outgoing JEC Chairman, Senator Dan Coats, who concludes his service in Congress this week, warned that “…our country simply cannot keep borrowing money we do not have. Today, our national debt is nearly $20 trillion and continues to grow by the second. Meanwhile, programs that millions of Americans depend on — Social Security and Medicare — are creeping ever closer to insolvency. America’s looming fiscal storm is bearing down upon us, and the alarms are sounding louder each day. One day, if not addressed, this debt bomb will explode and have a devastating effect on our country’s economy and on our children’s future.”

For more details on the consequences of a debt crisis coming to full fruition, refer to JEC’s releases, The Looming Debt Crisis: An International Perspective and The Looming Debt Crisis: A State & Local Perspective.

LAST WEEK

News & Commentary Weekly Highlights:

• MarketWatch: Are we there yet? Full employment draws closer, one jobs report at a time (Saturday)
• Bloomberg: Paschi Rescue to Cost Italy 6.6 Billion Euros, Central Bank Says (Friday)
• CNN Money: Dow finishes wild 2016 with 13.4% gain (Friday)
• Bloomberg: Money, Markets and Marvels: Understanding the Year Ahead (Thursday)
• CNBC: China could derail OPEC’s effort to balance oil markets this year, says analyst (Sunday)

 

Top Economic Indicator Highlights:

• Consumer Confidence Index (December 2016)
  • December: 113.7; November: 109.4; October: 100.8
  • Noteworthy: The Consumer Confidence Index, which measures households’ sentiments of business and employment in the present and for the next six months increased substantially following the election results in November. The last time it attained this height was July 2007.

 

THIS WEEK

Upcoming Economic Data and Events

• Monday
• Tuesday
  • Construction (10:00am)
  • CoreLogic Home Price Index (10:00am)
  • ISM Manufacturing (10:00am)
• Wednesday
  • Motor Vehicle Sales (4:00pm)
• Thursday
  • ADP National Employment Report (8:15am)
  • ISM Non-Manufacturing (10:00am)
• Friday
  • Employment Situation (8:30am)
  • Trade Balance (8:30am)
  • Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, & Orders (10:00am)
  • Consumer Credit (3:00pm)