Economy in Brief

Consumers seem to be gaining back the inclination to spend. Retail sales last month rose 1.4% after a 2.3% September decline that was deeper than reported initially. A 0.9% October gain was the Consensus expectation. The increase [...]

The U.S. economy is strengthening, so suggests price pressures in the foreign trade accounts. Overall import prices rose 0.7%, though the gain fell short of Consensus expectations for a 1.0% increase. The rise was led by a 0.9% [...]

European GDP turned higher in Q3 but the results were generally less than expected. Among the early ‘flash’ GDP reporters France posted a small rise but it was the second rise in a row for France. Greece with always volatile results [...]

Consumer sentiment declined again in early November, falling from October's 70.6 to 66.0, measured by the Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment. Forecasters had looked for only a marginal decrease to 70.0. The [...]

Following months of shrinkage due to lower oil prices and a poor economy, the September U.S. trade deficit widened significantly. The deficit of $36.5B followed a little-revised August figure of $30.8B and the m/m deterioration [...]

Following months of shrinkage due to lower oil prices and a poor economy, the September U.S. trade deficit widened significantly. The deficit of $36.5B followed a little-revised August figure of $30.8B and the m/m deterioration [...]

MFG IP in the e-Zone rose in September laying a foundation for continued economic recovery. Over three months the annual rate of IP growth is now 1.9% compared to flat over six months and lower by 13.8% over 12-months. To be sure the [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association indicated that mortgage applications rose 3.2% last week and remained up by nearly one-half from last year. But the overall figure masks conflicting trends between mortgage applications for purchase [...]