Economy in Brief

The bad news from the labor market continued unabated last month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that January nonfarm payrolls were slashed by 598,000 after cuts of 577,000 and 597,000 during the prior two months. Both of [...]

The bad news from the labor market continued unabated last month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that January nonfarm payrolls were slashed by 598,000 after cuts of 577,000 and 597,000 during the prior two months. Both of [...]

German IP is dropping fast with the headline off by 4.6% in December following a November decline of 3.8%. In the fourth quarter, German IP is falling at a 24.6% annual rate. The steel industry reports orders falling faster than any [...]

The correction of factory inventory levels has picked up steam. In December, the 1.4% decline followed a 0.5% November drop that was roughly double the initial estimate of -0.3%. On a three-month basis, the rate of decline accelerated [...]

During last year's fourth quarter, labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector rose 3.2% (AR), up sharply from a 1.5% increase during 3Q. The rise pulled growth for the whole year up to 2.8% which doubled the gain during all of [...]

U.S. labor market conditions became more bleak last week as initial claims for unemployment insurance jumped 35,000 to 626,000. Moreover, the prior week's modest increase was revised up slightly and the latest level by far surpassed [...]

U.S. labor market conditions became more bleak last week as initial claims for unemployment insurance jumped 35,000 to 626,000. Moreover, the prior week's modest increase was revised up slightly and the latest level by far surpassed [...]

Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that January job cut announcements soared to 241,749 following 166,348 layoffs during December. The latest figure was the highest since early-2002. Job cut announcements in the retail industry led [...]