Economy in Brief

The pump price for regular gasoline moved four cents higher last week to $2.78 per gallon. That remained down from $2.91 in early-May. Pulled higher by firm demand, prices have risen from the late-2009 level of $2.61. Yesterday, the [...]

For the second consecutive month, small business optimism fell. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported their July small business optimism index fell m/m to 88.1. That's down from the recent high of 92.2 and it [...]

Labor productivity fell last quarter. A modest uptick had been expected, but the drop is a natural result of slower output growth coupled with a faster increase in labor hours worked. Nonfarm business sector productivity fell 0.9% [...]

On the surface German inflation trends are excellent. The HICP is decelerating from a meager 1.2% Yr/Yr to 0.7% over six-months to less than one-half of one percent over three-months. The German domestic inflation measure is actually [...]

Consumers still are shying away from carrying credit balances. At least they're looking to lower the balances they have. Consumer credit outstanding fell $1.3B during June after a $5.3B May decline that was smaller than reported [...]

Despite there being strength in industrial orders German IP took a set-back in June falling by 0.6% as MFG IP fell by 0.8%. However this drop follows a sharp 2.9% gain in May and it leaves the three month growth rate only marginally [...]

The already weak labor market suffered an unexpected setback last week. Initial claims for jobless insurance rose to 479,000 from 460,000, revised up from 457,000, during the prior week. The latest level was the highest since early- [...]

German growth in orders continues to be lead by foreign demand. Despite a surge in orders in June the Yr/Yr pace in overall orders is stepping down from its highest pace of several months ago. Over 12-months foreign orders are up by [...]