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 strengthened in November, boosted by improvement in the retail sub-sector, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Revenues at services-providing firms were nearly flat this month, but retail sales jumped and foot traffic rose sharply. Big-ticket sales were flat, however. Retail inventories expanded and merchants were upbeat about potential sales during the next six months. Services providers remained optimistic about revenues in the six months ahead, though their outlook was somewhat less enthusiastic than in October.
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The number of employees in the broad service sector edged down, driven by continuing cuts in retail. In addition, average wage increases were less prevalent in November.
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The pace of service sector price change picked up in November, compared with a month ago. Survey respondents also expected a somewhat faster rate of price increase during the next six months than they predicted last month.