Economy in Brief

The Composite Index for the service and construction sectors from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) pulled back to 54.4 during September from an unrevised 58.6 in August. The latest figure was the lowest since June and [...]

The Composite Index for the service and construction sectors from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) pulled back to 54.4 during September from an unrevised 58.6 in August. The latest figure was the lowest since June and [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance ticked up last week to 308,000, but that was just slightly higher than the low early last month of 294,000. During the prior week ended September 21, claims were revised up to 307,000 from 305,000. [...]

Employment growth is having difficulty improving versus past gains. The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report showed a 166,000 rise (1.9% y/y) in non-farm private sector jobs last month. That followed downwardly revised increases of [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the total mortgage market index were roughly unchanged (-55.9% y/y) last week. Applications to refinance an existing loan gained 3.1%, up by roughly one-quarter from the early-September [...]

Vehicle sales gave back some of their earlier strength last month. Unit sales of light motor vehicles fell 5.1% (+3.4% y/y) during September versus August to 15.28 million (SAAR) according to the Autodata Corporation. The latest sales [...]

Despite stability last week, chain store sales remain depressed. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales ticked up 0.2% last week (+2.1% y/y). For all of this month, however, [...]

The Composite Index of Manufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management rose to 56.2 during September from an unrevised 55.7 in August. The latest reading was the highest level since April 2011. It beat [...]