Economy in Brief: 2006

During the last week of January, the total number of mortgage applications reversed most of the prior week's increase with a 5.1% decline. Nevertheless, because of increases during the first three weeks of the month, mortgage [...]

The value of construction put in place increased a firm 1.0% in December, double the upwardly revised November rise. Consensus expectations had been for a 0.2% gain. Residential building rose a sharp 1.0% following little change in [...]

For January, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) reported that the Composite Index of activity in the manufacturing sector eased to 54.8 from an upwardly revised level of 55.6 in December. It was the third consecutive monthly [...]

For January, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) reported that the Composite Index of activity in the manufacturing sector eased to 54.8 from an upwardly revised level of 55.6 in December. It was the third consecutive monthly [...]

Economic sentiment in the European Union, and particularly the Euro Zone is improving. The Business Climate Indicator (long-term average = 100) for the individual countries of the European Union, together with the aggregates for the [...]

At today's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the target interest rate for Federal funds was raised 25 basis points to 4.50%, the fourteenth increase since June of 2004. The unanimous decision was widely expected by [...]

The Index of Consumer Confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, rose 2.4% to 106.3 during January. This third consecutive monthly increase exceeded Consensus expectations for a lesser gain to 105.0. The increase was in line [...]

Chain store sales fell a hard 1.1% last week after the modest 0.3% rise during the prior period, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey. The drop lowered the gain in sales during January to 1.0% [...]