Economy in Brief

Total business inventories gained 0.3% (4.2% y/y) after having been roughly unchanged for two months. The figure was accompanied by a 0.1% slip (+1.5% y/y) in business sales, the second month of decline. As a result, the inventory-to- [...]

Prices in the U.S. foreign trade sector are under pressure. Import prices fell 0.6% last month (-1.9% y/y) following a revised 0.7% April drop, initially reported as -0.5%. No change in prices had been expected in the Action Economics [...]

The job market remains firm. Initial unemployment insurance claims fell to 334,000 (-12.6% y/y) during the week ended June 8 from an unrevised 346,000 during the week prior. Consensus expectations were for 345,000 claims. The four [...]

The consumer remains in a spending mood. Retail sales during May rose 0.6% (4.3% y/y) following an unrevised 0.1% April uptick. The latest figure beat consensus expectations for a 0.4% gain, according to Action Economics. Retail sales [...]

The Federal Government ran a budget deficit during May of FY'13 of $138.7B, slightly larger than the $124.6B during May of last year. The figure compared to consensus expectations for a $109B deficit. So far this fiscal year the [...]

E-Zone IP is accelerating, putting in surprising strength in April with a gain of 1%. It is on a steady run of acceleration and is up strongly in the quarter-to-date. Finland, Italy, Spain and Portugal are contrary showing [...]

The home mortgage market looks somewhat different given the recent surge in interest rates. The effective rate on a 15-year mortgage rose to 3.42% last week, up 53 basis points from early May and the highest level since April 2012. [...]

Industrial output slipped in April in the UK even as it showed signs of getting some traction. Consumer durables output dropped and intermediate goods output fell by a relatively sharp 2.1% in April. These drops were partly offset by [...]