Economy in Brief

Not only are housing prices rising, but the rate of increase is firming. The seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller 20 City Home Price Index rose 0.4% (3.0% y/y) during September, the same as in August. The y/y gain of 3.0% was the fastest [...]

Last week the pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline inched up one cent (3.9%) to $3.44 per gallon. Since their September peak prices have fallen 44 cents per gallon. The w/w price increase ran counter to the norm for this time [...]

Durable goods orders were unchanged (2.3% y/y) last month after a 9.2% recovery during September. The figure contrasted with Consensus expectations for a 1.0% decline. Fewer orders for transportation equipment accounted for much of [...]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for November rose slightly to 73.7 from 73.1 in October, revised from 72.2. Consensus expectations had been 73.2 for this month. The latest figure was the highest since February 2008. [...]

Measures of Consumer sentiment or confidence in Korea, Brazil and Italy were announced today. In Korea, sentiment is measured above or below a neutral position of 100. Consumer confidence in Brazil is measured in points. The [...]

The Chicago Federal Reserve reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) for October dropped sharply to -0.56 from an unrevised 0.00 during September. The three-month moving average also fell to -0.56, its lowest since October [...]

The Leading Economic Indicator index from the Conference Board increased 0.2% during October following a 0.5% September gain, initially estimated at 0.6%. Fifty percent of the component series had a positive influence on the index [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance fell last week, but remained elevated after Hurricane Sandy. Claims fell during the week ended November 17 to 410,000 from 451,000 during the prior period, initially reported as 439,000. The four [...]