Recent Updates
- Turkey: External Debt Payments (Nov)
- Brazil: PPI (Oct)
- Mexico: Economic Activity (Sep)
- Palestine: Depository Corporations Survey (Oct)
- China: Bond Issuance (Q3), Banking Asset and Liabilities (Oct)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. New Home Sales Almost Unchanged Since August
New single-family home sales around the country changed very little in October and also in September...
U.S. Q3 Growth GDP Unrevised at 33.1%; Corporate Profits Rebound
The second estimate of Q3 U.S. real GDP indicated that economic activity rose an unrevised 33.1% q/q...
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rise Further in October
Manufacturers’ orders for durable goods increased 1.3% m/m (-0.3% y/y) in October...
U.S. Goods Trade Deficit Deepens During October
The advance estimate of the U.S. trade deficit in goods deepened to $80.29 billion during October...
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise for a Second Week
Initial claims for regular state unemployment insurance rose again this past week ending November 21 to 778,000...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller April 18, 2005
The 1Q '05 Composite Business Index published by the Manufacturers' Alliance/MAPI improved slightly to 71 from 70 the prior quarter.
Since 1992 there has been a 68% correlation between the Composite Index Level and quarterly growth in factory sector output.
The current orders index improved a point to 90. The export orders index also nudged up a point to 90, but that was a new record level.
The profit margins index slipped modestly for the second quarter but remained near a record level and capital spending intentions for the coming year fell modestly.
For the latest press release from the MAPI click here. 
| Manufacturers' Alliance/MAPI Survey | 1Q '05 | 4Q '04 | 1Q '04 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite Business Index | 71 | 70 | 78 | 76 | 67 | 60 |
