DALLAS, April 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica
Bank's California Economic Activity Index was unchanged in
February, maintaining a level of 119.7. February's reading is 36
points, or 42 percent, above the index cyclical low of 84.1. The
index averaged 119.8 points for all of 2015, six and two-fifths
points above the average for all of 2014. January's index reading
was 119.7.
"Our California Economic Activity Index was unchanged in
February, and has been range bound since April 2015. What our index shows is that
California is a two-handed
economy. On the one hand, overall job growth has been steady and
that is a fundamentally positive indicator, supporting most
non-manufacturing industries. On the other hand, tech sector stock
prices have been stagnant, as have federal defense spending and
housing starts in the state," said Robert
Dye, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "We expect to see an
upside breakout in our California
index in the months ahead, supported by the positive outlook for
the tech sector and firmer residential construction activity."
The California Economic Activity Index consists of eight
variables, as follows: nonfarm payrolls, exports, hotel occupancy
rates, continuing claims for unemployment insurance, housing
starts, national defense spending, home prices, and the
NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index (NDXT). All data are seasonally
adjusted, as necessary, and indexed to a base year of 2008. Nominal
values have been converted to constant dollar values. Index levels
are expressed in terms of three-month moving averages.
Comerica Bank, with 102 banking centers in the key California markets of San Francisco and the East Bay, San Jose, Los
Angeles, Orange County,
San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, Santa
Cruz/Monterey, and the
Inland Empire, is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:
CMA). Comerica is a financial services company headquartered in
Dallas, Texas, and strategically
aligned into three major business segments: the Business Bank, the
Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on
relationships and helping businesses and people be successful.
To subscribe to our publications or for questions, contact us at
ComericaEcon@comerica.com. Archives are available at
http://www.comerica.com/economics. Follow us on Twitter:
@Comerica_Econ.
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SOURCE Comerica Bank