Economy in Brief: October 2011

After three quarters of declines in GDP, an increase looks likely for Japan in the fourth quarter. Recovery is proceeding from the March Earthquake and Tsunami. Although industrial production fell by almost 4% in September from [...]

Factory sector activity around Chicago developed less forward momentum this month. The Purchasing Mangers Association of Chicago indicated in its October Business Survey that the Business Barometer Index fell somewhat to 58.4 from [...]

The chart shows that one big difference between the US and the European rates of unemployment is that Europe has ‘always’ had a rate ‘this high’ and the US has not. The table below tells another unfortunate tale, this one much [...]

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for all of October increased to 60.9. That's versus its mid-October reading of 57.5 and 59.4 for September. Consumers' expectations reading rose to its highest since July but [...]

The employment cost index for private industry workers rose 0.4% in Q3 for total compensation versus an unrevised 0.8% Q2 jump. The Q3 increase fell short of expectations for a 0.6% rise as compiled by Bloomberg. The four-quarter gain [...]

The personal savings rate has been falling since its 2008 monthly peak of 8.3%. However, the latest leg down to 3.6% highlights a marked acceleration in the rate of decline. Despite a sharp deterioration in income growth, consumers [...]

The EU indices show continued weakness in the EU area. The slippage this month, however, was minor. Still, the overall EU index stands in the 22nd percentile of its historic rank. Consumer confidence stands in the 12th percentile. [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending sales of existing single-family homes fell 4.6% last month to the lowest level since April. A 0.4% rise had been expected by Bloomberg. For all of Q3, sales were roughly [...]