Economy in Brief

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, regular gasoline prices last week dipped five cents from the earlier period. Nevertheless, at an average $1.91 per gallon prices remained near their recent high, up 30 cents from the low. [...]

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20 Home Price Composite Index fell 2.0% during December, the third such decline in three months. That pulled prices down 18.5% during the last twelve months and by 26.7% since their peak in May 2006. The series [...]

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20 Home Price Composite Index fell 2.0% during December, the third such decline in three months. That pulled prices down 18.5% during the last twelve months and by 26.7% since their peak in May 2006. The series [...]

The Baltic States--Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania--have, in recent years, pegged their currencies to the euro. Until recently, this arrangement had proved economically satisfactory to the three nations. However, as the deterioration in [...]

Italy’s headline HICP inflation rate fell by 0.6% in January. Its domestic inflation measure fell by 0.2%. Both series show that inflation has dropped sharply. The Yr/Yr pace for the HICP, or harmonized rate, is 1.4% down from 3.2% a [...]

A survey of 47 top economic forecasters released today indicates that the current U.S. recession should end in the second half of this year. The subsequent recovery would start quite slowly, compared to historic norms, then pick up [...]

The January National Activity Index (CFNAI) from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank remained depressed at -3.45 after December's level of -3.65. The December figure was revised lower from the initial estimate and the latest numbers were [...]

The January National Activity Index (CFNAI) from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank remained depressed at -3.45 after December's level of -3.65. The December figure was revised lower from the initial estimate and the latest numbers were [...]