The BEA Wire | BEA's Official Blog
Guest blog: New Advance Economic Indicators Report Available This Month
This is a guest blog by John H. Thompson, Director of U.S. Census Bureau
New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, 2014 and 2015
Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish, or expand U.S. businesses totaled $420.7 billion in 2015, an increase of 68 percent from 2014, when expenditures were $250.6 billion; according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in statistics released today.
Some additional highlights of the statistics on new foreign direct investment for 2015:
Real Personal Income for States, 2014
Real personal income across all regions rose by an average of 2.9 percent in 2014. This growth rate reflects the year-over-year change in nominal personal income across all regions adjusted by the change in the national personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. On a nominal basis, personal income across all regions grew an average of 4.4 percent in 2014. In 2014, the U.S. PCE price index grew 1.4 percent.
May 2016 Trade Gap is $41.1 Billion
The U.S. monthly international trade deficit increased in May 2016 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $37.4 billion in April (revised) to $41.1 billion in May, as exports decreased and imports increased. The previously published April deficit was $37.4 billion. The goods deficit increased $3.7 billion from April to $62.2 billion in May. The services surplus decreased $0.1…
Coming July 13: Statistics on New Foreign Investment in 2014 and 2015
SUITLAND, Md. — Statistics detailing the amount and type of new direct investments made in the United States by foreign investors will be released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Wednesday, July 13.
The data will be available in a news release on BEA’s website at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. The statistics cover new direct investments initiated in 2015 and 2014 and will provide information on:
U.S. Net International Investment Position: End of the First Quarter of 2016
The U.S. net international investment position at the end of the first quarter of 2016 was -$7,525.6 billion (preliminary) as the value of U.S. liabilities exceeded the value of U.S. assets. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, the net investment position was -$7,280.6 billion (revised).
Why Do Old GDP Numbers Keep Changing?
BEA is getting ready for its big summer update of GDP and other national economic statistics, coming in late July. This annual ritual of refining figures from the last three years can be confusing. People wonder: Were the old numbers wrong? Are these new figures final? No, and not really.
Real Consumer Spending Slows in May
Personal income increased 0.2 percent in May after increasing 0.5 percent in April. Wages and salaries, the largest component of personal income, increased 0.2 percent in May after increasing 0.5 percent in April.
GDP Increases in First Quarter
"Third" estimate of GDP
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016, according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth rate was 0.3 percentage point higher than the “second” estimate released last month. In the fourth quarter of 2015, real GDP increased 1.4 percent.
Travel and Tourism Spending Accelerated in the First Quarter
Real spending (output) on travel and tourism accelerated in the first quarter of 2016, increasing at an annual rate of 5.2 percent after increasing 1.5 percent (revised) in the fourth quarter of 2015. By comparison, real gross domestic product (GDP) decelerated, increasing 0.8 percent in the first quarter (second estimate) after increasing 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015.
State Personal Income: First Quarter 2016
State personal income grew 1.0 percent on average in the first quarter of 2016, the same pace as in the fourth quarter of 2015. Personal income grew in every state except Wyoming and North Dakota with first-quarter personal income growth rates ranging from -1.3 percent in North Dakota to 1.5 percent in Washington.
U.S. Current-Account Deficit Increases in First Quarter 2016
The U.S. current-account deficit—a net measure of transactions between the United States and the rest of the world in goods, services, primary income (investment income and compensation), and secondary income (current transfers)—increased to $124.7 billion (preliminary) in the first quarter of 2016 from $113.4 billion (revised) in the fourth quarter of 2015. As a percentage of U.S. GDP, the deficit increased to 2.7 percent from 2.5 percent.…