Economy in Brief

The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo held steady during July at 60 (+13.2% y/y) versus an upwardly revised June. It was the highest level since November 2005 and exceeded [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index for July declined to 5.7 from an unrevised 15.2 in June. Expectations were for 12.0 in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The [...]

EU auto registration rose in June, advancing by 4.8% month-to-month and by 11.8% year-over-year. The country data range from a monthly gain of 6.6% in France to a 3.8% drop in Italy. Year- over-year registration gains range from 17.8% [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to 281,000 (-7.2% y/y) during the week ended July 11 from 296,000 during the prior week, revised from 297,000. The decline reversed all of the prior week's gain and may reflect [...]

Overall industrial output increased 0.3% during June (1.5% y/y) following an unrevised 0.2% decline. A 0.2% rise in production had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Manufacturing sector production was unchanged [...]

The Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions showed modest improvement this month to 3.86 after its decline to -1.98 in June. The latest figure remained, however, well under the 27.41 peak reached last September. The [...]

The overall Final Demand Producer Price Index increased 0.4% during June (-0.7% y/y) following an unrevised 0.5% May rise. A 0.2% gain was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Prices excluding food & energy also beat [...]

The Netherlands is another case of an EMU country where the trade picture belies the weakness in the euro exchange rate. While exports and imports do not respond wholly to the same set of variables, they are both affected by the [...]