Economy in Brief

The latest figures from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank show that the February Business Activity Index fell further to its lowest level since 1990 and that rivaled the lows of the series' forty year history. The bank reported [...]

The European PMI readings are very weak again in February. In January there was a slight bounce in the indices for MFG as well as for Services but in February the weakness is back in force with the indices dropping very sharply - [...]

During February the consumer price index (CPI-U) rose for the first month since July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 0.3% gain followed drops of 0.8% and 1.7% during December and November. Due to those earlier [...]

During February the consumer price index (CPI-U) rose for the first month since July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 0.3% gain followed drops of 0.8% and 1.7% during December and November. Due to those earlier [...]

The U.S. labor market continued quite weak as the Labor Department indicated that initial claims for unemployment insurance remained stable last at 627,000. The prior week's figure was revised up slightly. The latest level again [...]

For January, the Conference Board reported that the composite index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4% after a revised 0.2% December increase. The peak index level occurred in July of last year and the six-month rate of decline [...]

Italy’s exports fell in December but imports plunged helping to boost the trade account and to shift the balance of trade on goods into surplus in December. Italy’s current account deficit is still on a deteriorating trend, even with [...]

U.S. producer prices for finished goods rose 0.8% during January following five consecutive months of sharp decline. Despite the latest monthly increase, however, the year-to-year change of -1.3% was the softest since late 2002. A [...]