Economy in Brief: 2016

The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that job cut announcements during November declined to 26,936 (-13.0% y/y) following October's fall to 30,740. It was the lowest level of job cut announcements since [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance jumped to 268,000 (-2.2% y/y) during the week ended November 26 from an unrevised 251,000 in the prior week. Expectations had been for 250,000 claims in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. It was [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending home sales improved 0.1% (1.8% y/y) during October following a 1.4% September increase, revised from 1.5%. These sales are reported as an index with 2001=100. The [...]

The Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer Index increased to 57.6 during November and recouped an unrevised October decline to 50.6. The latest was the highest level since January 2015. The figure compared to expectations for [...]

German retail sales rebounded strongly in October, gaining 2.6% after a 1% decline in September. Even with two monthly drops in a row in August and September, the October rebound puts rates on a three-month growth track. But German [...]

Personal income posted a 0.6% increase (3.9% y/y) during October following 0.4% September rise, revised from 0.3%. It was the largest increase in six months. A 0.4% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]

The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report indicated that nonfarm payroll employment increased 216,000 during November following a 119,000 October rise, revised from 147,000. The September increase of 196,000 also was revised down [...]

Regular gasoline prices held at $2.15 per gallon (4.6% y/y) last week, their lowest level since mid-August. Prices remained down versus a 2014 high of $3.71 per gallon. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal [...]