Pantheon Macroeconomics

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US Publications

Below is a list of our US Publications for the last 5 months. If you are looking for reports older than 5 months please email info@pantheonmacro.com, or contact your account rep

Please use the filters on the right to search for a specific date or topic.

Weekly Monitor

30 June 2025 US Monitor Consumers' spending is rapidly losing momentum

  • Spending fell by 0.3% in May, with little chance of a June rebound, and further weakness likely in Q3.
  • The 0.4% fall in May incomes was due to one-time factors, but real income growth is set to stagnate.
  • The core PCE deflator surprised to the upside in May, but the 0.18% rise will pale in comparison to June.

Samuel TombsUS

23 June 2025 US Monitor Consumption looks vulnerable to the looming real-income shock

  • Real income growth has already slowed significantly, and will grind to a halt as tariffs boost consumer prices.
  • Spending growth likely will soften too; households’ balance sheets are less supportive than post-Covid.
  • We expect growth in consumers’ spending to slow just 1% by Q4, down from nearly 3% in Q1.

Samuel TombsUS

16 June 2025 US Monitor May retail sales likely posted their biggest fall in over two years

  • We look for a below-consensus drop in May retail sales of about 1%, driven by autos and other durables.
  • Spending elsewhere seems to be holding up relatively well for now, but that will change as prices start to rise.
  • Real incomes likely will stagnate in Q3; households no longer have the means to fuel strong spending growth.

Samuel TombsUS

9 June 2025 US Monitor Mr. Trump is right; the labor market will need substantial Fed easing soon

  • Moderate payroll growth in May offers little reassurance, due to the re-emerging pattern of downward revisions.
  • Hiring intentions indicators point to payroll growth slowing to about 75K in Q3; federal job cuts will continue.
  • The trend of slowing payroll growth will be startling by the FOMC’s September meeting, compelling easing.

Samuel TombsUS

2 June 2025 US Monitor Weaker consumers' spending and higher core inflation lie ahead

  • Consumers’ spending is on track for respectable growth in Q2, but a sharper slowdown looms...
  • ...As tariff-induced prices increases push up core PCE inflation, weighing on real incomes.
  • Tariff-related distortions to the trade and inventories likely will artificially boost Q2 GDP growth.

Samuel TombsUS

27 May 2025 US Monitor Labor market weakness will emerge, but not before July's FOMC meeting

  • Payrolls in the retail, wholesale and goods transportation sectors have leapt by 200K since November...
  • ...These gains will unwind as goods demand slumps, but probably after July FOMC meeting.
  • Tariffs of 50% on EU imports would boost the core PCE deflator by 0.5% and hit GDP by around 1%.

Samuel TombsUS

19 May 2025 US Monitor April data consistent with consumers bearing nearly all the tariff costs

  • April import price data damage the theory that overseas manufacturers will absorb some tariff costs.
  • PPI trade services prices—gross margins—usually are revised up; retailers are planning June price hikes.
  • Residential construction payrolls are vulnerable to a drop in housing starts; the market is oversupplied.

Samuel TombsUS

12 May 2025 US Monitor April CPI set to show inflation had been tamed, before the tariff shock

  • We look for a below-consensus 0.2% gain in the April headline CPI; the egg price surge likely unwound…
  • …But rising vehicle prices and a partial rebound in hotel room rates likely drove a 0.3% rise in the core CPI.
  • It's too soon to see major tariff-related price hikes, and weak demand suggests airline fares stayed lower.

Samuel TombsUS

5 May 2025 US Monitor Uncertainty over tariffs hasn't killed jobs yet, but their imposition will hurt

  • Tariff uncertainty supported payrolls in April, by temporarily boosting the logistics and retail sectors...
  • ...But hiring intentions have weakened and a sharp decline in activity in the logistics sector is in train.
  • We’re pushing back our forecast for Fed easing to July, from June, but we still expect 75bp this year.

Samuel TombsUS

28 April 2025 US Monitor Payroll Payroll growth is unlikely to have slowed decisively as soon as April

  • We look for a 150K increase in April payrolls and a stable unemployment rate at 4.2%…
  • …Job postings, initial claims and the employment indexes of business surveys were little changed.
  • A calendar quirk will depress April average hourly earnings, but the trend is slowing.

Samuel TombsUS

21 April 2025 US Monitor Few alarms yet in high-frequency data; business surveys weaker

  • Timely data suggest consumers’ spending has held up well in the immediate aftermath of April 2.
  • Few obvious tariff-induced cracks have yet appeared in the labor market either.
  • But the latest regional Fed manufacturing surveys point to a slump in orders and much higher prices.

Oliver Allen (Senior US Economist)US

14 April 2025 US Monitor Consumers are shell-shocked, but spending indicators remain mixed

  • People are the most downbeat about the outlook for 45 years and are very worried about losing their job.
  • Timely spending and borrowing data, however, continue to run above levels consistent with recession.
  • Tariff-related inflation will be milder than people fear; Fed policy easing will shore up sentiment too.

Samuel TombsUS

7 April 2025 US Monitor Payroll growth will slow, but it's too strong for the Fed to ease in May

  • The stock price drawdown is historically consistent with a 1% fall in payrolls, but slow gains are more likely.
  • Most services firms have little exposure to tariffs; leading indicators of hiring are weak, not on the floor.
  • The healthcare sector will remain a jobs juggernaut; falling manufacturing payrolls will drag modestly.

Samuel TombsUS

31 March 2025 US Monitor Tariffs will be too small to drive a sustained downturn in consumption

  • GDP looks set to grow at a mere 1% pace in Q1, following February’s weak consumption data.
  • Fading pre-tariff frontrunning, however, explains the slowdown; core services spending is still rising.
  • Tariffs will weigh on real income growth by less than 1%; recession remains unlikely.

Samuel TombsUS

24 March 2025 US Monitor Aggregate household balance sheet data mask growing fragilities

  • Improving aggregate household balance sheets last year masked a big rise in loan delinquencies.
  • More people will miss loan payments as unemployment increases and student loan payments jump.
  • The sharp fall in stock prices likely will weigh on the March flash estimate of the S&P composite PMI.

Samuel TombsUS

17 March 2025 US Monitor Is a recession now likely after the horrific Michigan consumer survey?

  • The economy has never dodged recession in the last 45 years with unemployment expectations so high…
  • …But WARN data, Indeed job postings and hiring intentions have deteriorated less dramatically.
  • Consumers think tariffs will boost inflation by about 2pp; the reality won’t be that bad.

Samuel TombsUS

10 March 2025 US Monitor February likely will be the last month of resilient payroll growth for a while

  • February payroll growth was in line with the trend; the downward skew in revisions has ceased…
  • …But the jump in economic policy uncertainty is starting to weigh on hiring and firing decisions.
  • Federal worker layoffs and fading catch-up growth in healthcare jobs will aggravate the slowdown.

Samuel TombsUS

3 March 2025 US Monitor Consumers will crack soon, but spending will rebound in February

  • January’s fall in consumption was due to residual seasonality, bad weather and auto-specific issues.
  • A February rebound is signalled by timely data on auto sales, consumer lending and restaurant visits.
  • A mid-year lull in spending, as real income growth slows, is more likely than a sudden stop in Q1.

Samuel TombsUS

24 February 2025 US Monitor How seriously should we take the PMI's slowdown signal?

  • The S&P PMI points to growth in final sales to private domestic purchasers slowing to just 2% in Q1.
  • The PMI was too gloomy during the first trade war, but tariff and federal spending risks are bigger now.
  • Tariff threats also are driving consumers’ confidence lower and inflation expectations higher.

Samuel TombsUS

18 February 2025 US Monitor January's weak retail sales due to much more than just bad weather

  • Adverse weather likely explains only part of the steep drop in retail sales in January.
  • The rush of spending on durable goods in anticipation of new tariffs already is showing signs of fading.
  • …That sets the stage for much slower growth in consumers’ spending in Q1.

Oliver Allen (Senior US Economist)US

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