Economy in Brief: 2012

The EU commission indices provide some perspective on Europe’s unraveling and embattled economy. For now the relentless erosion has abated but pressure remains and adverse dynamics are still in force. The overall EU index rose this [...]

Last year ended with Japan reporting its first calendar year deficit on trade in goods since 1980.(See the first Chart.) Trade was distorted by a severe earthquake and tsunami in March. Plants and equipment were destroyed and [...]

Intuit compiles data covering small business employment and 2012 started with a weak gain. For January, its employment index rose 0.2% to 96.14. The index has been rising for just over two years but this month's gain was the weakest [...]

For the first time in six months, individuals made a meaningful effort to save rather spend a firm gain in income. The personal savings rate rose to 4.0% last month from an unrevised 3.5% in November. To be sure, it wasn't a great [...]

With The Conference Board's release yesterday of the December leading indicator index, they included a brand new measure of financial market forces, which they call the Leading Credit Index. In December, it rose 0.2%; it enters the [...]

Money supply in EMU is just moving sideways. The Yr/Yr rates of growth are fairly steady but the shorter-term sequential rates show a clear slowdown. Expressed in real terms, that is deflated by consumer prices, the money growth trend [...]

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for the full month of January was 75.0, up from 74.0 at mid-month and from 69.9 in December. The latest figure was the highest since last February and better than Consensus [...]

Economic growth returned to its trend last quarter, but no more. In its advance estimate the Commerce Department indicated that Q4'11 real GDP grew at a 2.8% annual rate. Expectations had been for a 3.0% rise. The figure was improved [...]