Economy in Brief

In October the overall German PPI fell by 0.4%. The index fell excluding energy by 0.2%; manufacturing prices fell by 0.3%. The harmonized PPI fell by 0.3%. There is a consistency across the board of weakness in October and of price [...]

In October the overall German PPI fell by 0.4%. The index fell excluding energy by 0.2%; manufacturing prices fell by 0.3%. The harmonized PPI fell by 0.3%. There is a consistency across the board of weakness in October and of price [...]

The overall U.S. unemployment rate declined during October to 5.0%, half its late-2009 peak. Falling jobless rates occurred throughout the country, but there was great variation amongst individual states. The country's largest states [...]

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index increased 0.6% during October following two months of slight decline. September's 0.1% dip was revised from -0.2%. The Action Economics Forecast Survey called for a 0.4% October rise. [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index for November turned slightly positive following two straight negative readings. At 1.9, the latest figure was the highest since [...]

EMU posted a wider trade surplus in September as that surplus moved up to 20.1bln from 19.0bln Euros in August. But a widening surplus does not mean that all is well in EMU or in the rest of the world. EMU exports rose by 1.1% in [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell slightly to 271,000 (-7.2% y/y) during the week ended November 14 from an unrevised 276,000 in the prior week. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 270,000 initial claims. The [...]

The recent rise in the cost of mortgage financing has muted the number loan applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Market Volume Index increased 6.2% last week (10.7% y/y). The rise made up the [...]