The 2016 Headline Cash-Based Federal Deficit was $0.587 Trillion;
Using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the Deficit Was $1.048 Trillion

Including the Net Present Value of Unfunded Liabilities, the
GAAP-Based Federal Deficit in 2016 Appears to Have
Widened by About $7 Trillion versus 2015

Nominal December Retail Sales Gain of 0.6% Was Not Good News;
Incentive-Boosted Auto Sales Borrowed Activity from First-Quarter 2017;
Holiday Season Real Sales Growth Likely Did Not Break-Even

Annual December 2016 PPI Energy Inflation Rose Meaningfully for the
First Time Since the Collapsing Oil Prices of 2014

Monthly December PPI Inflation: Goods Up 0.74%,
Construction Down 0.09% (-0.09%), Services Up 0.09%, Total Up by 0.27%