Economy in Brief

The euro-zone's private sector economy remains under pressure in April. The manufacturing PMI index fell slightly to 46.48 in April from 46.75 in March. At this level the manufacturing index historically has been weaker only about [...]

The price of regular gasoline held last week at $3.54 per gallon (-8.6% y/y). That followed eight weeks of decline from a $3.78 per gallon peak. The norm for this time of year, as driving picks up seasonally, is for prices to begin [...]

Retail sales growth in the Eurozone contracted in February after rising in January and dropping in December. Over three months, retail sales are contracting but they are contracting at a slower rate than they had been over six months. [...]

The National Association of Realtors reported that March sales of existing homes fell 0.6% (+10.3% y/y) to a 4.920M annual rate. The increase followed a downwardly revised 0.2% February uptick. The latest fell short of Consensus [...]

The Chicago Federal Reserve reported that its March National Activity Index (CFNAI) backpedaled to -0.23 from an upwardly revised 0.76 in February. The three-month moving average pulled back to -0.01, its lowest reading since October. [...]

Depending on where you live in the U.S., the unemployment rate may vary greatly from the country's 7.6% average. Suffering the greatest degree of unemployment is the Pacific region where jobless rates average 8.8%. California averages [...]

Industrial orders in Italy fell by 2.5% in February adding to a string of declines that extends back over four months. The declines over the recent two months are steeper than the declines over the previous two months. Foreign orders [...]

Unemployment remains high in the European Monetary Union. As of February the rate is 12% the same as in January both figures are up from December's 11.8%. In the EU unemployment rates have snaked up to 10.9% from 10.8% in January and [...]