Economy in Brief

Small business optimism fell 3.4% during March following three consecutive months of sideways movement, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The index drooped last month to its lowest level in three [...]

Chain store sales surged last week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey, as consumers upped spending by 1.8% following five consecutive weeks of softness. The jump raised sales in early April [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the February job openings rate, from the Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), was unchanged from an upwardly revised 2.9% the prior month. The job openings rate is the number of [...]

February industrial production data for Sweden, France, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were released today. In each case there was a decline from January in the seasonally adjusted data. Except for France, however, the February [...]

The Leading Index of the Major 7 OECD economies rose 0.4% during February following upwardly revised increases in January and December. The gains lifted the leaders' six month growth rate to 3.8%, its best in nearly two years. During [...]

The Leading Index of the Major 7 OECD economies rose 0.4% during February following upwardly revised increases in January and December. The gains lifted the leaders' six month growth rate to 3.8%, its best in nearly two years. During [...]

The unemployment rate in Canada eased 0.1% in March to 6.3%, the lowest level since December 1974. Statistics Canada further reported that 50,500 more people had jobs in March, following on rises of 24,700 in February and 26,300 in [...]

Non-farm payrolls increased 211,000 during March. The gain beat Consensus expectations for a 190,000 rise but the February & January advances were both revised down slightly. Since payrolls started rising in early 2003 employment [...]