Economy in Brief

Unemployment insurance claims jumped unexpectedly in the week ending August 14, reaching 500,000 from an upwardly revised 488,000 the week before (originally 484,000). It was the first appearance of 500,000 initial claims since [...]

Spring time for Germany...This is a unique time for the German economy. It is growing fast, having put in the best quarterly growth since unification; the best quarter in two decades and a strong one compared to any decade. Inflation [...]

Bank lending policies have begun to shift toward easier standards, according to the quarterly Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Survey. Data covering the latter half of July were reported Monday, August 16; participants, 57 domestic [...]

Earnings trends: UK average earnings (including bonuses) rose economy-wide in June. But the private sector saw earnings drop by 1.1%. Over three-months earnings are falling on both measures, over six months a small rise is in place; [...]

Housing has taken a real thumping in this cycle, a process that began well before the recession. So it is not surprising that with the recession over, housing is not simply springing back to life. It is instructive to look at the [...]

Industrial production surprised for July with a 1.0% surge, compared with a consensus expectation of 0.5% and a downward revised -0.1% in June. Output is up 7.7% from a year ago. The manufacturing sector gained 1.1% in the month, [...]

The 284 German institutional investors and analysts who participated in the ZEW survey between July 26 and August 16 have become less optimistic about future economic conditions. At the same time, they raised their appraisal of the [...]

The producer price index for finished goods turned back higher in July, gaining 0.2% after June's 0.5% drop. The July rise pushed the year-on-year performance to a sharp 4.2% increase, compared with 2.7% registered in June. Both the [...]