Economy in Brief

Kazuo Momma, head of Research and Statistics at the Bank of Japan, commented in a recent speech that the Japanese economy may have declined at an "unimaginable speed" in the fourth quarter of last year. Estimates of a seasonally [...]

The Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit outstanding rose just 1.7% during all of last year. That growth in U.S. credit usage was its lowest since 1993. The slowdown was led by revolving credit outstanding (credit cards), [...]

The Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit outstanding rose just 1.7% during all of last year. That growth in U.S. credit usage was its lowest since 1993. The slowdown was led by revolving credit outstanding (credit cards), [...]

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 [...]