Economy in Brief

Following the expiration of the government's home buyer tax credit, home prices have lost forward momentum. During July, the seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index slipped 0.1% (+3.2% y/y) following a diminished [...]

The Czech Republic and the Netherlands reported measures of confidence among their consumers and business communities. There were small declines in both measures in both countries. In the Netherlands, the percent balance between [...]

Money growth is largely tame - With the Federal Reserve pondering doing more and the case for further monetary stimulus being argued in the UK and with Japan trying to put a number on a new fiscal stimulus plan the path of money [...]

The August National Activity Index (CFNAI), reported by the Chicago Fed, backpedaled and returned to nearly its lowest level of the economic recovery. The decline to -0.53 was from a revised -0.11 during July and indicated that [...]

With no government help and no jobs growth, home sales remain mired. The Census Department indicated that August new home sales were even with July at 288,000. July's figure was revised up from 276,000 while May sales of 282,000 were [...]

IFO acts like economic UFO – Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, no! It's the German economy! Germany's IFO this month does seem a bit over the top compared to what expectations were. Maybe 'UFO' is too strong a [...]

Following the volatile monthly durable goods numbers can be dizzying. The trend, however, is weakening. The Commerce Department reported that August orders fell 1.3% after an upwardly revised 0.7% July gain. Expectations had been for [...]

The Conference Board reported that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose 0.3% during August after an unrevised 0.1% July uptick. Despite these gains, the three-month rate of increase decelerated to just 0.7% (AR), its weakest [...]