Economy in Brief

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending sales of single-family homes during June edged 0.4% lower (+10.9% y/y) after a downwardly revised 5.8% increase during May. The latest level, nevertheless, remained [...]

The consumer feels good. The reading from the Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment during all of July rose to 85.1 from 84.1 in June. The full-month number improved from the preliminary figure of 83.8. The [...]

French household confidence has risen from 79 in June to a level of 82 in July. However, the rebound is a pretty shallow affair. While the index reading is higher than it was in May and in June when the level stood at 79, apart from [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 343,000 (-5.5% y/y) during the week ended July 20 from a revised 336,000 during the week prior, initially reported as 334,000. The latest figure compared to an expected 337,000 in the [...]

New orders for durable goods jumped 4.2% last month (10.9% y/y) following an upwardly revised 5.2% increase during May, earlier reported as 3.6%. The gain easily outpaced consensus expectations for a 1.0% rise. The transportation [...]

The German IFO index saw the business climate reading moved to 106.2 in July from 105.9 in June, a gain of 0.3%. The current situation metric gained to 110.1 from 109.5, a rise of 0.6%. However, business expectations that are looking [...]

New home sales advanced 8.3% in June to 497,000, up 38.1% from a year ago and the largest volume since May 2008. Sales for May 2013 and the prior two months were revised a bit lower, however, with May now at 459,000 compared with [...]

Today is a red-letter day of some sort. China reported out a weakening in its manufacturing sector survey at the same time that Europe reported out improved economic numbers…and markets chose to react positively to the numbers [...]