This Week’s Important Labor Releases for REIT Investors
By Brent Nyitray, CFA, MBAUpdated
A slow August week coming up
The week after the jobs report is usually pretty data-light, although this week does have some important labor and manufacturing data. Earnings season is winding down. Retailers, who tend to have January fiscal years, are about all who will be left after this week. Real estate investors got hit with a slew of important earnings reports in the last two weeks.
Following the jobs report, we get some important labor data as well: the relatively new Labor Market Conditions Index on Monday, non-farm productivity and unit labor costs on Tuesday, and the JOLTS Job Openings report on Wednesday.
On Friday, we’ll get industrial production, manufacturing production, and capacity utilization.
Economic data this week
Here’s a look at a rundown of this week’s economic data.
Monday, August 10, 2015:
- Labor Market Conditions Index
- MBA foreclosures
- MBA delinquencies
Tuesday, August 11, 2015:
- NFIB Small Business Optimism
- non-farm productivity
- unit labor costs
- wholesale inventories
- wholesale sales
Wednesday, August 12, 2015:
- MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association) mortgage applications
- JOLTS job openings
- monthly budget statement
Thursday, August 13, 2015:
- initial jobless claims
- Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
- retail sales
- import prices
- business inventories
Friday, August 14, 2015:
- producer price index
- industrial production
- capacity utilization
- manufacturing production
- University of Michigan consumer sentiment
Earnings reports
Monday, August 10
- New Residential Investment (NRZ)
Impact on mortgage REITs
REITs such as Annaly (NLY) and American Capital Agency (AGNC) will focus on data that will move the bond market. For them, there really won’t be much market moving unless the productivity or unit labor cost numbers are unusually weak or strong. Investors who want to bet on interest rates should look at the iShares 20-year bond fund (TLT).
