Economy in Brief

The consumer price index notched 0.1% higher during April (-0.2% y/y) following unrevised 0.2% increases in the prior two months. A 0.3% gain in the core price index (1.8% y/y), however, was the largest rise since January 2013. It [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index for May slipped to 6.7 from an unrevised 7.5 in April. It's been near that level all year, remaining well below the high of 40.2 [...]

The Index of Leading Economic Indicators from the Conference Board increased 0.7% during April (5.6% y/y) following a 0.4% March rise, revised from 0.2%. A 0.3% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The [...]

Sales of existing homes declined 3.3% (+5.5% y/y) to 5.040 million (AR) in April after a 6.5% rise during March to 5.210, million, revised from 5.190 million. Sales disappointed consensus expectations for 5.22 million in the Action [...]

The Chicago Federal Reserve reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) during April moved up to -0.15 from -0.36, revised from -0.42. The three-month moving average remained negative at -0.23, the lowest indication since [...]

The EMU PMI gauge from Markit fell to 53.4 in May from 53.9 in April, confounding expectations that Europe's recovery would take root and strengthen. Despite the weak euro exchange rate and ongoing and soon-to be-stepped up QE by the [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance increased to 274,000 during the week ended March 16 from an unrevised 264,000 in the prior week. The four week moving average eased to 266,250, a fifteen year low. The Action Economics Forecast [...]

Japan's GDP rose at a 2.4% annual rate in Q1, better than expected. Still, the GDP components are uneven. This is Japan's strongest quarterly GDP rise in one year. One year ago GDP rose by 4.9% as it was boosted by spending ahead of [...]