Economy in Brief: June 2015

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased 7.2% this month to 101.4 from 94.6 during May, revised from 95.4. It was the second firmest reading during the economic expansion and stronger than forecasts for 96.8 in the [...]

Chicago purchasing managers reported that their June Business Barometer Index improved to 49.4 during June following an unrevised decline to 46.2 in May. It was fourth month in the last five below 50, the break-even point between [...]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased 7.2% this month to 101.4 from 94.6 during May, revised from 95.4. It was the second firmest reading during the economic expansion and stronger than forecasts for 96.8 in the [...]

EU unemployment was steady in May as the same 9.6% rate as in April. EMU unemployment was steady at 11.1%. The number of unemployed continues to fall in both the EMU and the EU but not enough to lower the month-to-month unemployment [...]

Gasoline prices eased last week to an average $2.80 per gallon at the pump (-24.4% y/y) but remained higher than the low of $2.04 late in January. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in pump prices. [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that its June Composite index of factory sector activity improved to -7.0 during June, its least negative reading since January. The figure reflected modest improvement in production, [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending sales of single-family homes increased 0.9% during May following a little revised 2.7% gain during April. The latest level was the highest since April 2006. Expectations [...]

The EU and EMU indices of overall sentiment fell in June. The EU index fell to 105.5 from 106.4. The EMU index fell to 103.5 from 103.8 in May. Three of five EU indices are still giving net negative signals. Four of five indicators [...]