Economy in Brief

The tunnel chart on KC production says it all in a nutshell. The index has been weak. In July 2006 the production index sank below its 12-mont moving average and has more or less stayed there. It has been fluctuating sharply in early [...]

GDP expanded 0.7% in the UK in Q1 2007, the same as in Q4 and a bit better than forecasters' estimate of 0.6%. The year-on-year gain was 2.8%. At first glance, the most notable aspect of this Office for National Statistics [...]

Durable goods orders are up by 3.4% after a rise of 2.4% in February. In most cases this sort of back-to-back gain would set a strong chain of growth in place. Instead, orders are still in a hole following a plunge of 8.8% in January. [...]

Durable goods orders are up by 3.4% after a rise of 2.4% in February. In most cases this sort of back-to-back gain would set a strong chain of growth in place. Instead, orders are still in a hole following a plunge of 8.8% in January. [...]

Italian consumers have turned sharply negative according to the April ISAE survey of consumer confidence*.The overall index declined 4.3% from March. Consumers' confidence in the general economic situation declined 4.0% and confidence [...]

The story of consumer confidence is that the index is now just one month off its peak reading for this expansion cycle—not exactly the kind of thing to get worried about. The present situation sub-index is also one-month off its peak [...]

Existing home sales fell sharply in March but only after a similar sharp ramping up over the previous two months. The moving average of sales tells a better story falling by only a modest amount in the month. Meanwhile, home prices [...]

Existing home sales fell sharply in March but only after a similar sharp ramping up over the previous two months. The moving average of sales tells a better story falling by only a modest amount in the month. Meanwhile, home prices [...]