Economy in Brief

Industrial orders weakened in Italy in February. They fell by 3.1% but only after rising by 4.7% in January. Still, January represents a partial rebound from a 4.8% drop in December. Obviously, there has been a good deal of volatility [...]

The index of Leading Economic Indicators, published by the Conference Board, increased 0.8% (6.1% y/y) in March following an unrevised 0.5% February gain. A 0.7% rise was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The breadth [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank reported that its General Business Conditions Index for April improved to 16.6. That added to its March improvement into positive territory after a weather-depressed negative reading in February. [...]

Auto registrations in Europe have risen again on a year-over-year basis, posting an increase of 1.6% over 12 months. This, however, is down from a 6.8% year-over-year gain in February and is the smallest gain since October 2013. [...]

The labor market's recovery remained in evidence last week as initial unemployment insurance claims totaled 304,000, up slightly from 302,000 during the week ended April 5, revised from 300,000. Expectations had been for 315,000 [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index jumped 4.3% last week (-57.7% y/y) to the highest level in four weeks. Applications nevertheless remained two-thirds below the peak in September [...]

Industrial output in the U.S. increased 0.7% last month (3.7% y/y) following a 1.2% jump during February, initially reported as 0.6%. A 0.5% gain in total production was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Production in [...]

Housing starts in March gained 2.8% to 946,000 units (AR) from 920,000 in February, revised up from 907,000. The latest figure fell short of expectations for 970,000 starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Starts of single- [...]