President Donald Trump briefs Americans from Oval Office

Washington, D.C. – President Donald Trump joined Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the Oval Office this morning to brief Americans about additional Coronavirus relief and progress toward a vaccine.

President Trump: Rapid progress on a vaccine and therapeutics

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AAA reports Tennessee Gas Price Average down 12 Cents

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee gas price average continues to decrease amid growing concerns about COVID-19 and has dropped 12 cents since this time last week. 

The Tennessee Gas Price average  is now  $2.04 which is nearly 17 cents less than one month ago and 31 cents less than one year ago. 

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As Job Creation Exceeds Expectations Again Under President Donald Trump, Women Workers See Further Gains

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. labor market continues to build on its impressive gains over the past three years of the Donald Trump Administration. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly Employment Situation release, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 273,000 in February—adding nearly 100,000 more jobs than market expectations.

Additionally, preliminary payroll growth estimates for January and December were revised upward by a total of 85,000 jobs, bringing the monthly average over the past three months to 243,000 new jobs.

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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam Asks for Federal Disaster Declaration to Assist 12 Counties Recovering from Memorial Weekend Storms

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has requested that President Donald Trump declare a major disaster in Tennessee from the severe storms and straight-line winds of May 27th, and May 28th, 2017, in order to make federal assistance available for recovery efforts in the State’s impacted city and county jurisdictions.

“Community leaders, emergency managers, first responders, local officials and non-profits across Tennessee have worked tirelessly to help their neighbors recover from the impacts of the severe storms,“ Haslam said.

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AAA reports Tennessee Gas Prices Slip Lower

Tampa, FL – Tennessee gas prices declined almost a full cent during the past week. Gas prices in Tennessee averaged $2.11 on Sunday, according to AAA, whose data is collected from credit card swipes and direct feeds from 120,000 gas stations nationwide, in cooperation with OPIS and Wright Express. 

The state average is 3 cents less than a month ago, and 9 cents less than this time last year. Summer gas prices averaged $2.03 last year, and $2.45 the year before.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of June 7th, 2017

Clarksville, TN – The May Employment Report was generally disappointing. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 138,000 (median forecast: +185,000), while figures for March and April were revised a net 66,000 lower.

Retail payrolls fell for the fourth consecutive month (down more than 80,000 since January, which is more than the total number of coal miners). The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%, a 16-year low, partly reflecting a sharp drop in the rate for young adults (which could reflect a seasonal adjustment issue, although the trend is clearly lower).

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U.S. President Donald Trump Approves Keystone XL Pipeline

Boston, MA – Today, United States President Donald Trump together with the U.S. State Department have signed and issued a presidential permit to construct the Keystone XL pipeline.

Fuel price-tracker GasBuddy has been watching this issue for several years, with dozens of expert analyst writings covering the subject from both Canadian and U.S. viewpoints.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of February 13th, 2017

Clarksville, TN – The economic data calendar was thin. December trade figures were roughly in line with expectations. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell in the mid-February estimate.

Stock market investors were encouraged by the prospect for tax cuts following comments by U.S. President Donald Trump. In contrast, the bond market, recognizing that the process for cutting taxes will be contentious and lengthy, is less fearful of a large boost to the federal budget deficit (hence, bond yields have backed down over the past month).

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of February 8th, 2017

Clarksville, TN – The Federal Open Market Committee left short-term interest rates unchanged, as expected, and tweaked the wording of the policy statement slightly. There were no solid clues as to the timing of the next increase in short-term interest rates, but officials noted the improvement in consumer and business sentiment and seemed a little more confident that inflation “will” increase to the 2% goal.

While January numbers are often suspect due to the magnitude of the seasonal adjustment, the economic data continued to paint a picture of the economy that is in good shape.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of January 15th, 2017

Clarksville, TN – The economic calendar was relatively thin. Small business optimism rose sharply in December.  Growth in retail sales was concentrated in autos and gasoline – mixed and generally flat otherwise (with unusual softness in food) – but it was still a relatively good quarter overall. 

Department store sales were weak, but that is a long-term trend (not necessarily a sign of consumer weakness). The PPI was largely in line with expectations, reflecting moderate pipeline inflationary pressures (consistent with further Fed rate hikes in the months ahead).

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