Economy in Brief

Both import and export prices declined markedly in August. Yes, lower petroleum prices were a main feature, but other categories also had more than marginal decreases. Import prices fell 1.8% in August (-11.4% y/y) after July's 0.9% [...]

Spain is the large-economy success story for industrial production in the euro area. IP in Spain rose by 0.4% in July, up at a 3.8% annual rate over three months. The three-month pace is near the top pace for any EMU nation and by far [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance eased to 275,000 during the week ended September 5 from the previous week's 281,000. This latter figure was revised from 282,000, a small but unusual downward adjustment in a series that is [...]

The job openings rate rose to 3.9% during July, a new high, from 3.6% in June and 3.3% a year ago. The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total employment plus job [...]

The Quarterly Services Survey is the most timely and comprehensive measure of economic activity in the U.S. service sector. It is conducted by the Census Bureau and covers 5,000 service businesses with paid employees. The Bureau of [...]

The OECD has put a brave face on its new round of leading indicators, portraying the global economy with stable growth. When these indicators are at 100, they are indicating no tendency to accelerate of decelerate so the overall OECD [...]

Consumer credit outstanding increased $19.1 billion during July after rising $27.0 billion in June, which was revised noticeably from $20.7 billion reported before. July expectations were for an $18.0 billion increase, according to [...]

German exports surged by 2.4% in July, more than offsetting the 1.1% drop in June. The euro exchange rate continues weak, bolstering German exports. Exports are outpacing imports handily over three months and six months. But year- [...]