Economy in Brief

The May ISM Composite Index of industrial sector activity fell to 53.5 from an unrevised 54.8 in April. The decline compared to Consensus expectations for a slip to 54.0. A figure above the break-even level of 50 continued to indicate [...]

Difficulty in seasonally adjusting for the near-record winter temperatures may have been at work. Nevertheless, nonfarm payrolls grew just 69,000 last month following a downwardly revised 77,000 April increase, originally reported as [...]

One again Germany is distancing itself from the pack. Its retail sales are accelerating and its unemployment rate in May has fallen to its lowest rate in two decades. Meanwhile retail sales elsewhere in the Zone are limping and [...]

One again Germany is distancing itself from the pack. Its retail sales are accelerating and its unemployment rate in May has fallen to its lowest rate in two decades. Meanwhile retail sales elsewhere in the Zone are limping and [...]

GDP growth last quarter was more disappointing than initially estimated. Growth was revised down to 1.9% (SAAR) from 2.2% and it was the weakest advance since Q3'11. The figure matched Consensus estimates. The highest expected gain [...]

The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that 61,887 job cuts were announced this month, the highest level since September. Job cut announcements rose in the computer, apparel, construction, electronics, [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 383,000 during the week of May 26 compared to 373,000 during the week prior, revised up from 370,000. Consensus expectations were for 369,000 filings. The four-week moving average of [...]

While job growth improved slightly during May, this quarter's rise still is sharply reduced versus Q1. Private sector payrolls rose 133,000 as reported by the payroll processor Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and economic consultants [...]