Economy in Brief

The U.S. Treasury Department reported that during November, the federal government ran a budget deficit of $136.7 billion. A $125.0 billion deficit had expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. So far in FY'17, the federal [...]

Inventories at the wholesale level fell 0.4% (-0.4% y/y) during October following an unrevised 0.1% September rise. The advance report had indicated a 0.6% October decline. Inventories of durable goods declined 0.3% (-2.2% y/y) after [...]

French manufacturing and overall industrial output fell in October. The French PMI reading has output advancing in October. The chart shows that over broad periods the IP and PMI indices for France move roughly in the same direction [...]

Relatively sluggish economic conditions in the U.S. continue to be reflected in moderation in the use of credit. Total borrowing in the U.S. was $2,895 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in Q3, up from $2,414 billion in Q2, [...]

Improvement in factory output worldwide has given life to industrial commodity prices. The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) increased 4.9% during the last [...]

The OECD itself reports the following analytical assessment of its release this month: * Signs of growth gaining momentum have emerged in the CLIs for the United States, Canada, Germany, and France. In the United Kingdom, there are [...]

Initial unemployment insurance claims declined to 258,000 (-7.5% y/y) in the week ended December 3 following an unrevised increase to 268,000 in the prior week. Expectations had been for 255,000 claims in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

Consumer credit outstanding increased $16.0 during October (6.6% y/y) following a $21.8 billion rise in September, revised from $19.3 billion. A $19.0 billion increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Over [...]