Economy in Brief

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR),pending sales of single-family homes during March rose 1.5% (7.0% y/y) after a 1.0% February decline, revised from -0.4%. The latest level was the highest since April 2010. The [...]

Personal income inched up 0.2% during March (2.5% y/y) following an unrevised 1.1% advance during February. The rise fell short of consensus expectations for a 0.4% increase. Rental income again advanced 1.9% (12.8% y/y) and [...]

Euro-Zone money supply growth has steadied in the 4% to 5% range, slightly above its pace in the previous couple of years. Real money balances are rising a bit faster too in the range of 2.5% to almost 4%, up from one to one-point [...]

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for April fell 2.8% to 76.4, unchanged y/y, from 78.6 in March. The figure was improved versus a mid-month reading of 72.3. It compared to the consensus forecast for 73.3. [...]

Economic growth rebounded during Q1'13 as businesses replenished inventories depleted during Q4'12. Real GDP growth of 2.5% last quarter (1.8% y/y) followed a tepid 0.4% increase at the end of the year. Expectations were for a 3.1% [...]

The details for the German IFO index show that in terms of current conditions deceleration is rampant across all sectors of the German economy except for retailing. The German retailing sector index edged higher from 5.8 in March to a [...]

The economic recovery continues to strengthen the labor market. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 339,000 (-11.0% y/y) during the week ended April 20 from a revised 355,000 during the prior week, initially reported as [...]

The IFO index, a survey of the German economy, fell sharply from a +6 reading in March to a reading of 1.5 in April. While a small positive number, the 1.5 reading stands in the 66.7 percentile or the top third of its historic range. [...]