Economy in Brief: April 2013

The price of regular gasoline inched down last week at $3.52 per gallon (-8.1% y/y). That followed two months of decline from a $3.78 per gallon peak. The norm for this time of year, as driving picks up seasonally, is for prices to [...]

There's been a recent turnaround in overall consumer confidence led by those under 35 years of age. The Conference Board's April Consumer Confidence Index rose to 68.1 and reversed its March decline to an upwardly revised 61.9. [...]

The employment cost index for private industry workers rose 0.3% (1.7% y/y) in Q1'13 versus a downwardly revised 0.4% increase in Q4. The rise compared to expectations for a 0.5% gain as compiled by Bloomberg. The latest y/y increase [...]

Home prices are generating improved upward momentum throughout the country. The seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller 20 City Home Price Index increased 1.2% (9.4% y/y) during February and built on a 1.0% January rise. The 3-month [...]

Indices of economic sentiment from the European Commission show declines for the Economic Union (EU) and for the European Monetary Union (EMU) for April. The overall EMU index has fallen for the third month in a row, as has the index [...]

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR),pending sales of single-family homes during March rose 1.5% (7.0% y/y) after a 1.0% February decline, revised from -0.4%. The latest level was the highest since April 2010. The [...]

Personal income inched up 0.2% during March (2.5% y/y) following an unrevised 1.1% advance during February. The rise fell short of consensus expectations for a 0.4% increase. Rental income again advanced 1.9% (12.8% y/y) and [...]

Euro-Zone money supply growth has steadied in the 4% to 5% range, slightly above its pace in the previous couple of years. Real money balances are rising a bit faster too in the range of 2.5% to almost 4%, up from one to one-point [...]