Economy in Brief

European Union member trade trends have shifted from their past trends early in 2014. The exports of Finland, Portugal, France and Germany have turned lower after showing signs that the growth rate of exports may have bottomed in [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index nudged 0.9% higher last week (-53.7% y/y) following firm gains during the prior two weeks. Applications remained two-thirds below the peak in [...]

Inflation in the United Kingdom is finally starting to settle down. The harmonized price index for April rose 0.2% after a 0.1% increase in March. The three-month inflation rate is 1.7% at an annual rate compared to 1.5% over six- [...]

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales declined 1.3% (+2.4% y/y) last week, down for the third straight week. So far this month, sales have fallen 1.3% versus April after that [...]

The price for a gallon of regular gasoline held at $3.67 last week (-0.2% y/y) for the third straight week. The price remained down from the $3.78 per gallon peak reached in February of last year. To account for seasonal volatility, [...]

Industrial commodity prices recently exhibited moderate upward movement. Friday's industrial commodity price index, from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER), was 167.1, up 2.0% since early-February [...]

Overall Japanese machinery orders recovered in March, rising 4% from February's 3.3% drop after an 8.1% gain in January. Core orders (which exclude categories like ships and electric power) made a better recovery, rising 19.1% [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated that its Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions for May jumped to 19.01 from 1.29 during April. The latest was the highest level since May 2011 and beat expectations [...]