Economy in Brief: October 2009

The labor market signaled improvement again. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell last week to the lowest level since early-January. The Labor Department indicated that claims fell to 521,000 from an upwardly revised 554,000 [...]

There's been no let-up in the deleveraging of consumer balance sheets. For the seventh consecutive month, the Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit outstanding has fallen. During August, it was down by $12.0, or 4.0% y/y, and [...]

Liquidity has long been viewed as having the potential for fueling inflationary problems for an economy. Before that problem actually emerges, several "market-based" indicators help provide a market view of the pricing outlook. While [...]

Order Trends: German new orders growth was extended as foreign orders snapped back after a one-month decline. Domestic orders fell by 1.9% after surging by 9.5% in July. Orders have been rising steadily, strongly, over the past six [...]

Order Trends: German new orders growth was extended as foreign orders snapped back after a one-month decline. Domestic orders fell by 1.9% after surging by 9.5% in July. Orders have been rising steadily, strongly, over the past six [...]

Order Trends: German new orders growth was extended as foreign orders snapped back after a one-month decline. Domestic orders fell by 1.9% after surging by 9.5% in July. Orders have been rising steadily, strongly, over the past six [...]

Indications that consumer spending might be improving faded during the last several weeks. During the latest week, chain store sales slipped 0.3% leaving them 0.6% below September after that month's 0.7% decline. During the last ten [...]

The Central Bank of Australia raised its policy interest rate from 3.00% to 3.25% today, the first of the Group of 20 to increase interest rates since the start of the global financial crisis in late 2007. In relative terms, the [...]