Economy in Brief

The U.S. foreign trade deficit narrowed very slightly in July to $59.2B from a little revised $59.4B in June. The figure was quite near Consensus expectations for a deficit of $59.0B. While only a small improvement, the average [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit narrowed very slightly in July to $59.2B from a little revised $59.4B in June. The figure was quite near Consensus expectations for a deficit of $59.0B. While only a small improvement, the average [...]

Revised data for Japan's second quarter GDP revealed a 1.2% seasonally adjusted rate of decline, in contrast to a 0.5% increase estimated earlier and a consensus of a 0.7% decline. The main culprit in the decline was a sharp drop in [...]

GDP slows, private consumption holds up, capital formation slows. GDP is slowing in Italy’s quarterly and annual framework. Private consumption has been holding up and even improving slightly, but remains at a subdued pace around the [...]

French industrial output is up strongly on the heels of weak numbers from Germany and the UK and with ongoing weakness in Italy. In France, industrial production jumped by 1.3% in July, boosted by autos, a sector that had been weak. [...]

The decline in U.S. payrolls during August has raised the question of whether a recession in the overall economy is to come. In the past, sustained employment declines have been coincident with recession's onset, and sometimes they [...]

GDP slows, private consumption holds up, capital formation slows. GDP is slowing in Italy’s quarterly and annual framework. Private consumption has been holding up and even improving slightly, but remains at a subdued pace around the [...]

The ratchet lower in German production follows the sharp weakening in German industrial orders. The sequential growth rates in the table below do not show the slowing due to base effects (in April). The table shows that IP was soft in [...]