Economy in Brief: July 2017

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas indicated in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the July General Business Activity Index improved slightly to 16.8 and made up most of June's decline. The index remained, however, well below [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending home sales increased 1.5% (0.5% y/y) during June to an index level of 110.2 following declines in four of the prior five months. It was the highest in three months. [...]

Unemployment in the EMU area fell in June and fell across a very broad front. Of the ten original EMU members that report June unemployment levels in this table, seven show unemployment declines in June, with none showing increases [...]

The Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer for July declined sharply to 58.9 and reversed its unrevised improvement to 65.7 in June. A rise in the index to 60.0 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The [...]

The employment cost index for civilian workers rose 0.5% (2.4% y/y) during Q2'17, down from a 0.8% increase in Q1'17. A 0.6% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Wages and salaries also increased 0.5% (2.3% [...]

Economic growth accelerated during Q2'17 to 2.6% (2.1% y/y), the quickest advance in three quarters. Real GDP growth during Q1 was revised to 1.2% from 1.4%. Earlier estimates for 2015 and 2014 were revised slightly higher. Growth of [...]

The context for understanding U.K. confidence As the chart documents, U.K. consumer confidence has been through a roller coaster. It bottomed in 2008 then jumped in 2009. It then went into a long slide that ended in 2011. Confidence [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported that its index of regional manufacturing sector business activity eased to 10 in July, following an unrevised increase to 11 in June. It remained sharply improved versus the negative [...]