Recent Updates
- US: Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (Aug), IP & Capacity Utilization (Sep)
- US: Business Leaders Survey (Oct), Home Builders (Oct)
- US: Industrial Production Detail (Sep)
- Canada: Intl Transactions in Securities (Aug)
- Italy: CPI, HICP Final (Sep)
- UK: Claims (Sep), Earnings (Aug), Employment (Jul)
- Turkey: Trade & Service Indices (Aug); Iraq: Public Budget (Jul); Nigeria: CPI (Sep), Terms of Trade (Jun); Lebanon:
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Home Builder Index Improves, but Remains Below Last Year's High
The Composite Housing Market Index from the NAHB-Wells Fargo inched up during October to 68 from an unrevised 67 in September...
U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Hits Another Record
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate rose to a record 4.6% in August...
U.S. Gasoline and Crude Oil Prices Ease; Natural Gas Prices Increase
Gasoline prices slipped to an average $2.88 per gallon last week (+15.7% y/y)...
Macroeconomic Assessments by ZEW Experts Continue to Sink
Financial experts responding in the ZEW economic survey found current conditions weaker just about across the board...
U.S. Retail Sales Post Disappointing Increase
Total retail sales improved 0.1% (4.7% y/y) during September...
by Robert Brusca December 10, 2008
Output plunges in Italy and in France
In France a large part of the drop in IP is the weakened auto
sector. Output in the auto sector fell by 14.3%. Declines, as the table
shows, are widespread. The drops in output in France and in Italy are
worse than those in 2000 -2001. Output drops in France are gathering
momentum across sectors with the exception of capital goods. Italy
shows much the same situation with sequential growth rates indicating a
quickening pace of decline across sectors –the consumer sector being an
unpersuasive exception. In the quarter to date both countries show
sharp declines in output are underway in the -17% to -18% range
(annualized). Europe is in the throes of the severe output decline
phase of the recession. There are riots in Greece that mix some civil
unrest in with protests about how the economy is being managed.
| French IP excluding Construction | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saar except m/m | Oct-08 | Sep-08 | Aug-08 | 3-mo | 6-mo | 12-mo | Quarter-to-date |
| IP total | -2.7% | -0.8% | -0.5% | -14.7% | -12.3% | -7.2% | -18.3% |
| Consumer Goods | -0.4% | -0.2% | -0.6% | -4.6% | -1.8% | -3.3% | -4.3% |
| Capital Goods | -0.5% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1.0% | -4.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Intermediate Goods | -3.5% | -1.7% | -0.9% | -22.0% | -16.3% | -10.1% | -26.0% |
| Memo | |||||||
| Auto | -14.3% | -5.9% | -0.2% | -58.2% | -44.4% | -29.2% | -69.3% |
| Italy IP excluding Construction | |||||||
| Saar except m/m | Oct-08 | Sep-08 | Aug-08 | 3-mo | 6-mo | 12-mo | Quarter-to-date |
| IP-MFG | -1.1% | -2.9% | 0.1% | -14.6% | -12.9% | -6.8% | -16.7% |
| Consumer Goods | 0.8% | -3.3% | 0.6% | -7.6% | -11.1% | -4.6% | -7.4% |
| Capital Goods | -1.5% | -2.7% | -1.1% | -19.1% | -18.2% | -8.7% | -19.9% |
| Intermediate Goods | -2.1% | -3.5% | 0.9% | -17.5% | -13.4% | -8.3% | -22.3% |
| Memo | |||||||
| Transportation | -5.8% | -5.6% | 1.7% | -33.4% | -30.5% | -19.8% | -42.9% |
