Economy in Brief

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that its Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions fell to 11.88 and reversed all of the gains this year. The figure ran counter to Consensus expectations for a higher [...]

Consumers may be getting used to what is an uncertain economic environment. The mid-May reading of consumer sentiment, from the University of Michigan, rose 3.7% to 72.4. It was the highest figure since March. A reading of 70.0 had [...]

Growth is mixed and mingled - The table shows 2011-Q1GDP growth by quarter (annualized) and Year-over-Year growth quarterly for a batch of early-reporting EMU countries that has announced GDP this morning. I include as references the [...]

Higher energy & food prices were behind much of last month's increase in consumer prices. The Commerce Department reported that prices rose 0.4% in April after an unrevised 0.5% March gain. The increase matched Consensus expectations. [...]

The U.S. Commerce Department reported yesterday that business inventories rose 1.0% in March after a revised 0.7% February increase, originally reported as 0.5%. A 0.9% March gain in inventories had been expected by Bloomberg. The [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance fell last week to 434,000 after the jump to 478,000 during the prior period, initially reported as 474,000. The latest figure roughly matched Consensus expectations for 430,000 claims. The four- [...]

The rise in gasoline prices could be sapping strength from spending on other goods. Or, weak April retail sales could be due to a payback after earlier strength. We'll know more in the next few months. Total retail & food service [...]

The U.S. producer price index for finished goods increased 0.8% during April, similar to the 0.7% March gain. The rise was stronger than the 0.6% Consensus expectation and the y/y increase of 6.6% was its strongest since September [...]