Economy in Brief: 2012

It is hard to say with a straight face to anyone involved in markets that things in Europe are looking better. But the EMU PMIs for MFG and now for services each have taken a turn for the better in December. Yet Euro bourses, fixed [...]

Supply uncertainties recently increased petroleum prices. The price for a barrel of light sweet crude rose last week to $99.77 and remained up sharply from $79.71 averaged during the first week of October. Yesterday, the price jumped [...]

Intuit compiles data covering small business employment. Yesterday it reported improvement in December. Last month's employment index rose 0.3%. That was a bit slower than earlier gains of 0.4% but it raised the y/y increase to a [...]

The Euro Crisis is beginning to have serious repercussions on more and more countries around the world. The declines in demand among the Euro Area countries as a result of the austerity programs they have adopted to deal with the [...]

The level of building activity continues to improve, moderately. Construction spending during November rose 1.2% following a 0.2% October slip, revised from the 0.8% gain reported initially. However, September's gain was revised [...]

Further improvement in the factory sector is in evidence. The Composite Index of factory sector activity from the Institute For Supply Management rose to a six-month high of 53.9, from an unrevised 52.7 in November. The latest reading [...]