Economy in Brief: October 2018

The EMU manufacturing PMI sketches out a path that is a clear reminder of that old economic adage ‘what goes up must come down.’ It is not clear how long this downshifting will continue or where it will stop. Manufacturing is still in [...]

The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) jumped up to 61.6 in September from 58.5 during August. This is the second highest reading in the history of the series dating back [...]

The ADP National Employment Report indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 230,000 (2.0% year-on-year) in September from a slightly upwardly revised 168,000 in August (was 163,000). September's figure handily beat [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index was unchanged (-14.8% y/y) in the week ending September 28 following a 2.9% w/w increase in the preceding week. Purchase loan applications edged up [...]

Total sales of light vehicles of 16.72 million units (SAAR) in August (0.8% y/y)......... U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Sep Aug Jul Sep Y/Y % 2017 2016 2015 Total 17.24 16.72 16.77 0.8 17.23 17.55 [...]

Sales of light vehicles totaled 17.44 million units (SAAR) in September, up 4.3% on the month but down 4.0% on the year. August's sales had been 16.72 million. The September results were the strongest since November 2017, when they [...]

The EMU PPI has decelerated in August, but it is only a technical deceleration with the year-on-year rate falling to 4.2% from July's 4.3%. Year-on-year PPI inflation remains elevated. While oil price pressures have dissipated, [...]

The ISM composite index of activity in the factory sector decreased to 59.8 in September from 61.3 in August. A reading of 60.1 was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During the last ten years, there has been a 74% [...]