OPINION

Forecasts for the Weeks of December 29 and January 5

Peter Morici
Peter Morici  |  Dec 29, 2014
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
Here are my forecasts for upcoming economic data.
Forecast Prior Observation Consensus
Week of December 29
December 29
Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index 9.5 10.5 9.5
December 30
Twenty City M/M 0.1% 0.0
Twenty City M/M - SA -0.8 0.3
Twenty City Y/Y 3.9 4.9
Consumer Confidence 93.5 88.7 93.0
December 31
Initial Unemployment Claims 285K 280 286
Chicago PMI 60.8 60.8 60.8
Pending Home Sale Index - November 103.8 104.1 104.6
January 1
January 2
PMI Manufacturing Index - December 54.0 54.8
ISM (Mfg) - December 57.3 58.7 57.5
ISM Prices 43.8 44.5 43.0
Construction Spending - November 0.0% 1.1 0.5
Week of January 5
January 5
Auto Sales* - December 17.11M 17.20 16.9
Car Sales 8.08 8.18
Truck Sales 9.03 9.03
*SAAR, as published by Motor Intelligence
January 6
PMI Services Index 53.0 53.6
ISM Services - December 58.0 59.3 58.2
ISM Prices 54.5 54.5
ISM Business Activity 64.4 64.0
Factory Orders - November -0.2% -0.7 0.3
Durable Goods Orders -0.7 -0.7
January 7
ADP Employment - December 205K 208 226
International Trade - November -$41.0B 43.4 -41.8
FMOC
January 8
Consumer Credit - November $15.0B 13.2 15.0
January 9
Nonfarm Payrolls - December 215K 321 240
Private 205 314 235
Manufacturing 7 28 15
Unemployment 5.8% 5.8 5.7
Average Workweek 0.2 0.4 0.2
Average Hourly Earnings 34.5HR 34.6 34.6
Wholesale Inventories - November 0.2% 0.4 0.2
Peter Morici is a professor at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business, former Chief Economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, and five-time winner of the MarketWatch best forecaster award.