Economy in Brief

Last month saw a firming in home building activity. Total housing starts ticked up 0.8% (27.7% y/y) to 917,000 (AR) following a decline to 910,000 during January, initially reported as 890,000. The latest figure roughly matched the [...]

The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo fell to 44 this month following a downwardly revised February reading of 46. Expectations were for 47 in March. Nevertheless, the index [...]

Trade trends for EMU - The EMU trade surplus shrank in January as imports rose sharply month-to-month and as exports posted some growth as well. While exports are showing some sign of revival, the three-month rate of growth is only [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that the Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions held above break-even in March, for the second consecutive month. The latest reading of 9.24 dipped from 10.04 in [...]

The accompanying chart shows the incredible impact of the ongoing austerity programs in Europe. In high-inflation Italy the inflation rate has plunged. In low-inflation Germany inflation rate has continued to work lower. The current [...]

Industrial production jumped 0.7% (2.5% y/y) during February following a 0.1% January uptick, earlier reported as a 0.1% dip. A 0.4% gain had been expected in the Action Economics survey. Firmer factory sector production led the [...]

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment in mid-March retreated to 71.8 (-5.8% y/y) from 77.6 in February. The latest was the lowest level since December 2011. The figure remained down versus the November high of 82.7 [...]

The consumer price index jumped 0.7% (2.0% y/y) during February following two months of having been unchanged. Expectations were for a 0.5% rise. Prices excluding food and energy matched expectations and rose 0.2% (2.0% y/y). The [...]