Economy in Brief: March 2011

Improvement in factory sector activity slowed last month. Factory orders ticked down 0.1% during February after an unrevised 3.3% January gain. For durable goods only, orders fell 0.6%, revised from the 0.9% decline reported last [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance slipped to 388,000 last week from 394,000. The decline was to a level higher than Consensus expectations for 380,000, however, figures were revised back to 2006 due to new seasonal factors. Claims [...]

The overall EU index rose in March while the narrower EMU index fell by 0.6%. Industrial confidence in EU edged higher while retail and wholesale sentiment remained steady at their past monthly values. But consumer confidence lost one [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that overall mortgage applications fell 7.5% last week to the lowest level in a month. For March overall, applications rose 12.6% from the February average. Applications to refinance fell [...]

In its latest National Employment Report, the payroll processor Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and economic consultants Macroeconomic Advisers, indicated that the March level of private nonfarm payrolls rose another 201,000 after a [...]

Consumers know full-well the implications of the recent jump in petroleum prices; and they aren't good. The Conference Board reported that its March index of consumer confidence fell 11.9% to 63.4 and retraced the 11.1% February rise, [...]

Italy's Business sentiment index is up in March rising to 103.8 from 103.1 in February. The index sits in the 71st percentile of its range and at the 62nd percentile of its ranked queue. While it is reaching a post-recession high its [...]

Home prices continue weak and fell during January to their lowest since mid-2003. During January, the seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index fell 0.2% after an unrevised 0.4% December drop. It was the seventh [...]