Economy in Brief: July 2008

The U.S. foreign trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in May to $59.8B from a little-revised $60.5B in April. A May deficit of $62.4B had been generally expected. So far this year the monthly deficit has averaged $59.0B versus $59.8B [...]

Industrial output in the Euro Area is now in a clear downturn, judging from the trends in the Zone’s main economies. For a while, as the euro rose in value, it seemed as though the Euro Area was bullet-proof. German industrial [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance fell sharply last week to 346,000 from an unrevised level of 404,000 during the week prior. The decline outpaced Consensus expectations for a lesser dip to 395,000 claims. It likely reflected the [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance fell sharply last week to 346,000 from an unrevised level of 404,000 during the week prior. The decline outpaced Consensus expectations for a lesser dip to 395,000 claims. It likely reflected the [...]

Euro Area GDP grew by 0.7 percent (simple Q/Q rate; also 2.9% saar) in the first quarter from the fourth quarter, and was up 2.1 percent year on year. The figures show a downward revision to provisional figures reported on June 3. [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in the Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that for May, the number of job openings rose 0.4% from April. The rise followed April's 1.6% drop after declines during most of the prior [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in the Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that for May, the number of job openings rose 0.4% from April. The rise followed April's 1.6% drop after declines during most of the prior [...]

The weakness in German industrial output is spreading and cumulating. Consumer goods output is off by 4% Yr/Yr a strong drop for an inflation adjusted series. Capital goods and intermediates goods output are still up Yr/Yr but are [...]