Economy in Brief: December 2020

When the virus goes viral Once again anti-virus policies have hammered the global economy. China is the only exception. The ranking column is the starkest reminder of how the service sector is pressured. Only China where the virus [...]

• Service sector activity weakened to six-month low. • Component activity remained mixed. • Pricing power strengthened. The Composite Index of Services Activity from the Institute for Supply Management eased to 55.9 during November [...]

• State initial claims at lowest level in three weeks. • Continuing claims fall to lowest level since late-March. • Pandemic unemployment assistance remains down from earlier highs. • Insured unemployment rate continues downtrend. [...]

• Mortgage applications to purchase homes rose sharply. • Average size of loans to purchase reaches another record high. • Fixed mortgage rates fall to still another all-time lows. The Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Loan [...]

The number of unemployed in the EMU continues to fall and this month that drop was enough to move the rate of unemployment lower as well. The EMU-wide unemployment rate fell to 8.4% in October from 8.5% in September. The EMU [...]

• Job gain disappoints expectations. • Service-sector weakening is pronounced. The ADP National Employment Report indicated that nonfarm private sector payrolls increased 307,000 (-7.1% y/y) during November following a 404,000 October [...]

• Passenger car sales ease slightly. • Sales of light trucks fall for second straight month. • Imports share of market improves. Buyers of light vehicles pared back spending last month and added to October's weakness. The Autodata [...]

The manufacturing PMIs show that improvement vs. deterioration trends month-to-month are pretty even for November with nine reporters lower, eight higher and one unchanged (Mexico, by assumption, using October's data for November to [...]