Economy in Brief

Small business optimism rebounded last month and more-than-recovered its March weakness. The National Federation of Independent Business reported that its Small Business Optimism Index jumped during April to a seasonally adjusted 92.0 [...]

Total business inventories were roughly unchanged during March (4.5% y/y) for the second consecutive month. The figure was accompanied by a 1.1% drop (+1.8% y/y) in business sales which reversed the prior month's increase. As a [...]

There was broad-based improvement in retail purchases last month. Retail sales during April nudged up 0.1% (3.7% y/y) following a 0.5% slip in March, earlier reported as -0.4%. Earlier numbers also were revised. The latest figure [...]

The Federal Government ran a budget surplus during April of FY'13 of $112.9B, twice the surplus during April of last year. The figure slightly exceeded consensus expectations for a surplus of $95.0B. So far this fiscal year the [...]

Japan's economy-watchers index moved up sharply in March to a level of 57.3 from 53.2. It has reached its highest mark since early 2000 when the index was launched. The rise in the economy-watchers index has been particularly sharp in [...]

Industrial production in the UK rose by 1.1% in March, building on a gain of 0.6% in February, and struggling to make a net gain compared to January's 1.9% drop. In March output saw increases for consumer durable goods, consumer [...]

Inventories at the wholesale level rose 0.4% (4.7% y/y) during March following a 0.3% slip in February. Inventories of hardware, plumbing and heating equipment led the rise with a 2.1% gain (8.3% y/y) while apparel inventories were up [...]

Momentum behind the labor market's improvement is building. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 323,000 (-11.7% y/y) during the week ended May 4 from a revised 327,000 during the prior week, initially reported as [...]