Economy in Brief

Activity in the housing garnered strength this summer. The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo improved to 55 during August from an unrevised from 53 in July. The latest figure was [...]

Geopolitical news is starting to take its toll on European Monetary Union data. But we are not seeing these effects in June trade flows. The confrontation in Ukraine began six months ago, but the imposition of sanctions is a much more [...]

The Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions retreated to 14.69 during August after having moved to 25.60 in July. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that it was the lowest level since April and fell short [...]

Production in the manufacturing sector jumped 1.0% (4.9% y/y) during July after increasing 0.3% during the prior two months, last month reported as 0.1% for June and 0.4% for May. Overall industrial output in the U.S. increased 0.4% [...]

With Russian sanctions biting, we saw the first impact on European growth in the recent GDP figures. Germany is now the largest trading partner with Russia in the European Monetary Union, having just surpassed Finland. However, [...]

The overall Final Demand Producer Price Index rose 0.1% during July (1.7% y/y) following an unrevised 0.4% June increase. The gain matched expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Prices excluding food & energy improved a [...]

Import prices slipped 0.2% during July (+0.8% y/y) following an unrevised 0.1% uptick in June. The shortfall matched expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. A 1.4% decline (+1.7% y/y) in petroleum prices provided the [...]

GDP growth in the European Monetary Union (seasonally adjusted and working day adjusted) barely edged higher in Q2 2014, rising by 0.2%. The year-over-year figures show a deceleration in the growth rate to 0.7% in Q2 2014 from 0.9% in [...]