Economy in Brief

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage ticked lower again, last week to 3.72% from 3.80%. That remained up, however, from the early-May low of 2.89%. The rise in rates follows [...]

Consumer spending has rebounded this month following its June retrenchment. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales rebounded 1.4% last week (2.1% y/y), pulling sales to a record [...]

A trip to the gas station is becoming more costly. The price for a gallon of regular gasoline increased to $3.68 last week (5.4% y/y), up four cents from the week prior. It was the highest price since early-March though it remained [...]

French business climate improved by two points in July, with the index rising to 95 from 93 in June. The standing of the index is its highest in 15 months. The reading for the recent trend improved much more sharply to -30 in July [...]