Archive for March, 2013

Personal Income Increases in February

Published March 29, 2013 BEA News , Personal Income Leave a Comment
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pi_0313Personal income increased 1.1 percent in February after decreasing 3.7 percent in January. The January decrease reflected accelerated bonus payments and dividend distributions in December in anticipation of income tax changes.

Current-dollar disposable personal income (DPI), after-tax income, increased 1.1 percent in February after decreasing 4.0 percent in January. The expiration of a temporary reduction in payroll taxes boosted employee contributions for government social insurance in January. Excluding all special factors, DPI rose 0.4 percent in February after increasing 0.1 percent in January.

Real DPI, income adjusted for taxes and inflation, increased 0.7 percent in February after decreasing 4.0 percent in January.

Real consumer spending, spending adjusted for price changes, increased 0.3 percent in February, the same increase as in January.

PCE prices increased 0.4 percent in February after remaining flat in January.

pi_0313_2Personal saving rate
Personal saving as a percent of DPI was 2.6 percent in February, compared with 2.2 percent in January.

To learn more about personal income and outlays, read the full report.

GDP Growth Slows in Fourth Quarter

Published March 28, 2013 BEA News , GDP Leave a Comment
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Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 after increasing 3.1 percent in the third quarter, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The fourth-quarter growth rate was revised up 0.3 percentage point from the second estimate, which was released in February. Final sales, a measure that excludes changes in the volatile inventory component of GDP, increased 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter after increasing 2.4 percent in the third quarter.gdp_0328_1

Highlights
The fourth-quarter slowdown in real economic growth largely reflected downturns in inventory investment and federal government national defense spending. In addition, exports fell in the fourth quarter after rising in the third quarter.

Offsetting these contributions to the slowdown in growth:
• Business investment turned up, as spending on equipment and software as well as on structures rebounded.
• Imports decreased more than in the third quarter.
• Consumer spending for durable goods picked up.gdp_0328_2

Fourth-quarter revisions
The 0.3-percentage point upward revision to the third estimate of real GDP mainly reflected upward revisions to business investment in structures and to exports of both goods and services. In contrast, consumer spending for services was revised down.

Corporate profits
For 2012, corporate profits rose 6.8 percent at an annual rate, compared with 7.3 percent in 2011. Profits of nonfinancial corporations rose 8.1 percent, profits of financial corporations rose 13.5 percent, and profits from the rest of the world fell 2.0 percent.

For the fourth quarter, profits grew 2.3 percent at a quarterly rate. Profits of nonfinancial corporations rose 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter, and profits of financial corporations fell 0.8 percent. Profits from the rest of the world rose 5.6 percent.

In the fourth quarter, dividends increased $124.3 billion, compared with $12.8 billion in the third quarter. The large increase reflected special and accelerated payments made by corporations in anticipation of expected tax law changes.

For more, here’s the full report.

State Personal Income: Fourth Quarter 2012

Published March 27, 2013 BEA News , State Personal Income Leave a Comment
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In the fourth quarter of 2012, average state personal income growth accelerated to 1.9 percent from 0.6 percent in the third quarter, the fastest pace since the first quarter of 2011. Fourth-quarter growth ranged from 1.3 percent in West Virginia to 4.8 percent in South Dakota. The inflation rate was 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, the same as in the third quarter.

pi0313pi_0313_2

For more on state personal income, see the full report.

Fourth Quarter 2012 U.S. Net International Investment Position

Published March 26, 2013 BEA News , International Investment Position Leave a Comment
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The U.S. net international investment position was –$4,416.2 billion (preliminary) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with –$4,663.4 billion at the end of the third quarter as the value of foreign investments in the United States exceeded the value of U.S. investments abroad.IIP

• The $247.2 billion change in the net position reflected a $207.2 billion decrease in the value of foreign-owned assets in the United States and a $40.0 billion increase in the value of U.S.-owned assets abroad.
• U.S.-owned assets abroad were $20,760.1 billion at the end of the fourth quarter compared with $20,720.2 billion at the end of the third quarter.
• Foreign-owned assets in the United States were $25,176.3 billion at the end of the fourth quarter compared with $25,383.6 billion at the end of the third quarter.

For more on U.S. Net International Investment Position, read the full report.

BEA to Release Quarterly Global Investment Reports

Published March 21, 2013 BEA News , International Investment Position Leave a Comment
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A more up-to-date picture of the value of what the United States owns abroad compared to what foreign investors own in this country will debut March 26 when the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) releases its first quarterly estimates of the U.S. international investment position.  That release will feature statistics for the end of 2012 as well as quarterly data back to the fourth quarter of 2005.

The new quarterly reports (read more here) will provide more frequent and timelier statistics about the size and composition of the U.S. international investment position.  This in turn will help shed light on new market developments and major economic trends as well as allow economists to monitor more closely the United States’ position as a net debtor and better gauge U.S. vulnerability to external financial shocks.  The quarterly reports will also bring the United States in line with new guidelines issued by the International Monetary Fund for more frequent data on cross-border linkages following the 2008 financial crisis.

Previously BEA has issued a report each summer that provides detailed information on the U.S. international investment position for the previous year.  Last year BEA reported that for 2011 U.S. assets in foreign countries totaled $21.13 trillion while foreign-owned assets here were $25.16 trillion.  The difference between the two figures equaled the U.S. net international investment position for 2011 of negative $4.03 trillion.

The international investment position accounts (read more here) complement the international transaction accounts (read more here and here).  When used in combination, the two sets of accounts provide a complete statistical picture of the international sector of the U.S. economy.

You can find the latest annual international investment position release here or see a template of what the new quarterly release will look like here.  You can also sign up to receive the new quarterly releases by email subscription service.

 

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