Economy in Brief: 2008

October new orders for durable goods collapsed 6.2% m/m in what was the third consecutive monthly drop. During that period new orders virtually dried up as their 11.5% cumulative decline was the largest since the "credit crunch" [...]

October new orders for durable goods collapsed 6.2% m/m in what was the third consecutive monthly drop. During that period new orders virtually dried up as their 11.5% cumulative decline was the largest since the "credit crunch" [...]

October new orders for durable goods collapsed 6.2% m/m in what was the third consecutive monthly drop. During that period new orders virtually dried up as their 11.5% cumulative decline was the largest since the "credit crunch" [...]

October new orders for durable goods collapsed 6.2% m/m in what was the third consecutive monthly drop. During that period new orders virtually dried up as their 11.5% cumulative decline was the largest since the "credit crunch" [...]

The University of Michigan's reading of consumer sentiment for the full month of November was worse than at mid-month. The full month index fell to 55.3 from the mid-month read of 57.9 and from 57.6 for October. The latest level was [...]

The U.S. Census Department reported that October sales of new single-family homes fell 5.3% m/m to 433,000 after a downwardly revised 0.7% September uptick. The level of sales in October was off by nearly 70% from the July 2005 peak [...]

The rise in initial claims for jobless insurance took a breather last week. The 14,000 decline to 529,000 was the first material weekly fall in over one month. Yet despite the decline, initial claims for the month remained 10.7% [...]

Led by a 5.9% m/m drop in consumer spending on motor vehicles (-17.8% y/y), personal consumption expenditures fell 1.0% last month. It was the third consecutive monthly decline and was the largest for any month since the recession of [...]