Economy in Brief

German industrial production surprisingly rose by 1.2% in March building on a gain of 0.6% in February. These are the two first back-to-back gains in industrial production since April and May 2011 - and these gains are larger. These [...]

Lower interest rates are strengthening activity in the home mortgage market. The index of total mortgage applications from the Mortgage Bankers Association jumped 7.0% last week and by one-third versus last year. The rise reflected an [...]

The consumer took a break from spending more at the mall last week. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales fell 1.0% (+2.4% y/y). As a result, store sales began the month of May [...]

Following many months of double-digit gains, consumer credit growth calmed down in March, according to the Federal Reserve. Nevertheless, the $8.0B monthly rise still left the annual gain close to its strongest since early-2008. The [...]

German factory orders rose by 2.2% in March building on a gain of 2.2% in February. Surprisingly, driving the overall growth were orders from the euro-zone market which jumped 4.2 percent. Total overseas orders rose 2.7 percent, while [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the March job openings rate held m/m at 2.8%. The latest remained the highest since June of last year and equaled the recovery high. The [...]

Petroleum prices in the past have shown a nasty habit of firming with the onset of the summer driving season. The price of regular gasoline inched up two cents last week to $3.54 per gallon (-6.6% y/y). Prices reached a peak of $3.78 [...]

It's obvious that when it comes to most things, a person's age, sex and race matter. Within the Bureau of Labor Statistics Household Sector Survey, the differences are eye popping. To start, the April unemployment rate for women aged [...]