Economy in Brief

The European Commission's Business Climate Indicator for the Euro Area is designed to deliver a clear and early assessment of the cyclical situation. The extent that it has done so in the past can be seen in the first chart that shows [...]

The National Activity Index published by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank remained roughly unchanged during May versus April. Nevertheless, the index level of -2.30 was near its the highest level since October of last year. The latest [...]

The National Activity Index published by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank remained roughly unchanged during May versus April. Nevertheless, the index level of -2.30 was near its the highest level since October of last year. The latest [...]

Though the overall economy has yet to make a convincing turn towards the better, the University of Michigan's June reading of consumer sentiment suggests a coming improvement in retail spending. The full-month index level rose [...]

Consumer confidence in France has risen in three of the last for months with one month marking a pause in the rising trend. French confidence hit its low point in July of 2008 at a level of -48. Since then although the recession has [...]

The economic recession continued to damp growth in wages last month, but "automatic stabilizers" kicked in to pick the slack. The result was a 1.4% jump in May personal income which was the largest monthly increase in a year. The rise [...]

The economic recession continued to damp growth in wages last month, but "automatic stabilizers" kicked in to pick the slack. The result was a 1.4% jump in May personal income which was the largest monthly increase in a year. The rise [...]

Earlier improvement in the labor market improvement stalled in June. Initial claims for unemployment insurance edged up last week by 15,000 to 627,000, their highest level since May. The latest increase followed a modest 7,000 rise [...]