Economy in Brief

Central bankers like Yr/Yr inflation trends because those trends usually are ‘true’. In the case of the Euro-Area’s PPI, Yr/Yr inflation is still pretty high and the sector paths show very little loss in near term momentum except for [...]

The job market showed no glimmer of improvement last month, held back by a strike, lower factory sector employment and lower earnings. An unchanged reading for nonfarm payrolls followed downward revisions to earlier numbers and [...]

For all the fears about consumer spending, automobiles remain on the shopping list.Unit sales of light vehicles during August slipped just 0.8% from July to 12.12M units (SAAR) following a 5.8% July increase. Sales continued a [...]

To repeat last month's observation, the construction sector was not in as dire straights as previously shown, but growth still has been negligible. The value of construction spending during July fell 1.3% but that just reversed a [...]

Revised figures for Q2'11 labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector paint a dimmer picture of growth. The revised number fell 0.7% (AR) after the earlier report of a 0.3% slip. The decline matched that in Q1. The figures [...]

The Institute for Supply Management reported that its August Composite Index of factory sector activity dropped slightly to 50.6 from an unrevised 50.9 in July. Nevertheless, the figure was nearly the lowest since the economic [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 409,000 in the week ended August 27, down from 421,000 during the prior week (revised from 417,000). The latest figure roughly matched an expected 407,000 according to the Action [...]

UK consumers are suffering a relapse. After seeing confidence jump in May, June, July and August have brought on a relapse. Is it the knock-on effects of the European debt crisis or an overdose of the policies of the Conservative [...]