Economy in Brief: November 2007

U.S. sales of light vehicles last month fell 1.1% from September to a 16.06M unit annual selling rate. That followed the slight 0.3% decline during September, according to the Autodata Corporation. Domestically made vehicle sales fell [...]

Nonfarm payrolls increased 166,000 last month. The gain was double the rise expected by the consensus of economists, although the increase in September jobs was revised slightly downward to 96,000 from the 110,000 reported last month. [...]

Nonfarm payrolls increased 166,000 last month. The gain was double the rise expected by the consensus of economists, although the increase in September jobs was revised slightly downward to 96,000 from the 110,000 reported last month. [...]

The deficit in Australia's trade in goods and services increased further in September as exports declined and an accompanying decline in imports was smaller. The overall deficit was A$1,862 million, up from A$1,665 million in August [...]

The CIPS/NTC index of MFG for the UK shows a rather rapid downturn is in play. But the index reading at 52.9 is still reasonably upbeat by the historic standards of this survey. While the index is down from a peak of about 56 in [...]

The UK distributive trades survey shows a slowing of the UK economy. Sales are at a +13 from a year ago and at +7 for this time of year (Chart). Each of those figures is about at the midpoint of their respective ranges. Orders at -1 [...]

The Composite Index of activity in the manufacturing sector, reported by the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), fell to 50.9 last month from 52.0 during September. A reading above 50 indicates growth in factory sector activity. [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell slightly last week but it was only to 327,000 from an upwardly revised 333,000 during the prior week. There were no distortions to the figure from holidays. The four week moving average [...]