South By North Strategies, Ltd.

From the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s latest survey of service-sector activity in the South Atlantic (District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia):

Service sector activity pulled back in August, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. After three months of nearly flat sales, overall retail revenues declined, led by a sharp drop in big-ticket sales. Depressed shopper traffic added to the slump in retail activity. Merchants reduced inventories as they predicted weak demand for their products in the coming six months. Revenues at non-retail services firms also dropped in August, following five months of mild expansion. Services providers softened their outlook regarding demand for their services in the six months ahead.
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Turning to service sector labor markets, job reductions continued, although average wage growth strengthened across the board.
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Price growth slowed somewhat at retail establishments and ticked up at non-retail services firms, raising overall price growth slightly.