Economy in Brief: October 2020

• Overall compensation increased 0.5% in Q3 with year-on-year growth slowing to 2.4%. • Wages and salaries up 0.4% (2.5% y/y) while benefits gain 0.6% (2.3% y/y). The employment cost index (ECI) for civilian workers rose 0.5% in the [...]

• Employment remains weak. The Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer eased to 61.1 during October from 62.4 in September, but the sharp improvement from the May low of 32.3 is largely intact. Note that a reading above 50 [...]

• Overall compensation increased 0.5% in Q3 with year-on-year growth slowing to 2.4%. • Wages and salaries up 0.4% (2.5% y/y) while benefits gain 0.6% (2.3% y/y). The employment cost index (ECI) for civilian workers rose 0.5% in the [...]

• Gains in income from private sector offset decreased unemployment insurance payments. • Spending continued to strengthen, still led by spending on goods. • Price inflation edged up but remained well below Fed's target. Personal [...]

Japan's industrial production is up by 3.2% in September. IP is growing at a 65.4% annual rate over three months, but it is sill contracting on balance over six months and 12 months. The fire under IP in recent month is still not [...]

The EU Commission indexes registered an unchanged reading at 90.9 for the euro area in October. With the virus flaring all across Europe, that result was better than expected. Virus shutdown actions nonetheless proliferate across [...]

• After record decline in Q2, GDP posted record increase in Q3. • Led by rebounds in consumption and fixed investment. • But level of GDP still 3.5% below previous peak level. • Prices bounce back after having declined in Q2. U.S. GDP [...]

• Pending home sales fall for the first time since April. • Sales drop in all the major regions except in the Northeast. Pending home sales fell 2.2% (+20.5% y/y) in September, the first m/m fall since April, after an 8.8% rise in [...]