Economic Calendar

The Feds balance sheet is a weekly report presenting a consolidated balance sheet for all 12 Reserve Banks that lists factors supplying reserves into the banking system and factors absorbing reserves from the system. The report is officially named Factors Affecting Reserve Balances, otherwise known as the H.4.1 report.In September 2017, the Fed announced a program of quantitative tightening to reduce its balance sheet through the gradual reduction of both its Treasury and mortgage-backed security holdings. The monthly reductions, executed by reinvesting a decreasing amount of maturing securities, began in October 2017 and gradually increased in size before hitting a plateau in October 2018 at $30 billion per month for Treasuries and $20 billion per month for MBS. In January 2019, the Fed indicated that it would likely bring the program to a close by the end of the year, and in May 2019, the Fed cut the monthly reduction cap for Treasuries to $15 billion and announced it would end the program in September. In its July 31, 2019 FOMC statement, the Federal Reserve announced it is concluding the balance sheet reduction of its aggregate securities effective August 1, 2019, two months earlier than previously indicated. As of this date, all principal payments of maturing Treasuries held by the Federal Reserve will be rolled over at auctions. Principal payments from agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities up to $20 billion per month will be reinvested in Treasury securities to match the maturity composition of Treasury securities outstanding, while principal payments in excess of $20 billion per month will continue to be reinvested in agency mortgage-backed securities. On October 11, 2019, the Fed announced - while emphasizing its technical nature involving no monetary policy change - that it will begin increasing its balance sheet again starting on October 15 with projected monthly T-bill purchases of around $60 billion until at least the second quarter of 2020. The Fed said it was taking the action to ensure ample reserves in the banking system, evidently in response to recent disruptions in the repo market due to a lack of liquidity. Also bulking up the balance sheet would be repurchase agreements, which the Fed started to conduct in September 2019 to add liquidity to the cash-strapped repo market by lending cash in exchange for Treasuries. To ensure that the supply of reserves remains ample even during periods of sharp increases in non-reserve liabilities, and to mitigate the risk of money market pressures , the Fed said it would continue to conduct term and overnight repurchase agreement operations at least through January 2020, later extended in the implementation note of the January 2020 FOMC statement to at least through April 2020.

Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The Retail Business Survey covers all employing retail trade businesses who predominantly sell to households.

Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The Retail Business Survey covers all employing retail trade businesses who predominantly sell to households.

Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The data include all internet business whose primary function is retailing and also cover internet sales by other British retailers, such as online sales by supermarkets, department stores and catalogue companies. Headline UK retail sales are reported in volume, not cash, terms but are available in both forms. The data are derived from a monthly survey of 5,000 businesses in Great Britain. The sample represents the whole retail sector and includes the 900 largest retailers and a representative panel of smaller businesses, including internet sales. Collectively, all of these businesses cover approximately 90 percent of the retail industry in terms of turnover.

Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The data include all internet business whose primary function is retailing and also cover internet sales by other British retailers, such as online sales by supermarkets, department stores and catalogue companies. Headline UK retail sales are reported in volume, not cash, terms but are available in both forms. The data are derived from a monthly survey of 5,000 businesses in Great Britain. The sample represents the whole retail sector and includes the 900 largest retailers and a representative panel of smaller businesses, including internet sales. Collectively, all of these businesses cover approximately 90 percent of the retail industry in terms of turnover.

The quarterly employment barometer is a survey of 18,000 businesses and service sectors encompassing approximately 65,000 establishments. It collects data on job vacancies, recruitment difficulties and the development of employment forecasts. The main focus is on the quarterly and annual changes in overall employment.

Industrial profits are calculated as total revenue of enterprises gained from principal business operations minus the total costs incurred. The survey covers enterprises above a designated size, namely those with revenue from principal activities of more than CNY20 million. As well as aggregate data, more detailed data are reported for various industries and according to the nature of the enterprises ownership.