Economy in Brief: November 2008

The Chicago Purchasing Manager's Association indicated that its November business barometer fell to 33.8 after the collapse during October. The latest figure was the lowest since early during the sharp recession of 1982. Consensus [...]

The Euro Area reported a dramatically deflated CPI (HICP, Harmonized index of consumer prices) for November. The index dropped its rate of inflation back to 2.1% from 3.2%, a huge deceleration (in one month!) for yr/yr inflation that [...]

October new orders for durable goods collapsed 6.2% m/m in what was the third consecutive monthly drop. During that period new orders virtually dried up as their 11.5% cumulative decline was the largest since the "credit crunch" [...]

October new orders for durable goods collapsed 6.2% m/m in what was the third consecutive monthly drop. During that period new orders virtually dried up as their 11.5% cumulative decline was the largest since the "credit crunch" [...]

October new orders for durable goods collapsed 6.2% m/m in what was the third consecutive monthly drop. During that period new orders virtually dried up as their 11.5% cumulative decline was the largest since the "credit crunch" [...]

October new orders for durable goods collapsed 6.2% m/m in what was the third consecutive monthly drop. During that period new orders virtually dried up as their 11.5% cumulative decline was the largest since the "credit crunch" [...]

The University of Michigan's reading of consumer sentiment for the full month of November was worse than at mid-month. The full month index fell to 55.3 from the mid-month read of 57.9 and from 57.6 for October. The latest level was [...]

The U.S. Census Department reported that October sales of new single-family homes fell 5.3% m/m to 433,000 after a downwardly revised 0.7% September uptick. The level of sales in October was off by nearly 70% from the July 2005 peak [...]