Economy in Brief: 2012

Pending sales of existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops gained another 1.7% (9.8% y/y) last month after a slightly revised 5.0% October rise, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The latest figure joined [...]

New home sales reversed their October decline in November, as they gained 4.4% to a 377,000 annual rate (+15.3% y/y). This was the largest monthly amount since April 2010. The October result was revised to 361,000 from 368,000 [...]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for December fell 6.4 points to 65.1 (1985=100) from 71.5 in November. That figure was itself revised down 2.2 points from 73.7 reported a month ago. Consensus expectations had called [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased last week (ended December 22) to 350,000 following an uptick the week before to 362,000 (revised marginally from 361,000). Consensus expectations had looked for a nearly unchanged [...]

Housing market conditions continue to improve, as home prices firmed further in October, according to the seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller 20 City Home Price Index. This measure rose 0.7% in the month following 0.4% in September; the [...]

Durable goods orders increased 0.7% in November (0.8% y/y) after a 1.1% rise in October. October's figure was revised from the "advance" figure of zero change reported a month ago and the full manufacturing report number of 0.5%. [...]

The Chicago Federal Reserve reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) for November improved to 0.10 from a revised October reading of -0.64, last month reported as -0.56. The three-month moving average also rose to -0.20. [...]

The consumer lost the holiday spirit this month. The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment in December fell to 72.9 from 82.7 last month. The reading also fell short of the mid-month figure, 74.5. The latest was the [...]