Economy in Brief

Japan's Q1 2015 Tankan report shows little progress for the overall economy. The al industry reading nudges up to 16 in Q1 2015 from 14 in Q4 2014. The all industry outlook also edges up to 14 from 12 in Q4 2014. The closely-watched [...]

The value of construction put-in-place slipped 0.1% during February following a 1.7% drop in January, revised from -1.1%. No change had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Private construction activity gained 0.2% [...]

Factory sector activity remains without forward momentum. The March Composite Index from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) declined to 51.5 following its February drop to an unrevised 52.9. It was the lowest level since May [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index gained 4.6% last week (28.1% y/y) and remained at the highest level since early-February. Purchase applications led the way up with a 5.7% w/w [...]

The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report reported that nonfarm private sector payrolls increased 189,000 during March following a 214,000 improvement in February, revised from 212,000. The latest gain was the weakest since January [...]

Chicago purchasing managers reported that their March Business Barometer Index moved up to 46.3 this month following a sharp decline to an unrevised 45.8 in February. The reading roughly equaled expectations for 51.4 in the Action [...]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index improved to 101.3 in March (20.7% y/y) and made up half of last month's decline to 98.8, revised from 96.4. The latest figure was stronger than expectations for 96.5 in the Action [...]

Germany remains a world apart from the rest of the European Monetary Union members as its unemployment rate is less than half the average for the community. Germany's rate was steady in February as the rate fell in the EMU. In the [...]