Economy in Brief

Total business inventories posted another solid increase during December. The 0.7% increase followed an upwardly revised 0.6% November gain and was firmer than the 0.4% Consensus expectation. The latest increases, however, have lagged [...]

Chain store sales dipped 0.4% last week following a 2.0% surge during the opening week of February, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey. So far in February sales are 0.7% ahead of the January [...]

January US retail sales surged 2.3% as temperatures posted record highs. The increase by far exceeded Consensus expectations for a 0.8% gain and the December increase was revised down to 0.4% due to a lowered estimate of auto sales. [...]

January US retail sales surged 2.3% as temperatures posted record highs. The increase by far exceeded Consensus expectations for a 0.8% gain and the December increase was revised down to 0.4% due to a lowered estimate of auto sales. [...]

Japan's corporations raised the average selling price of domestic goods 0.3% in January over January 2005. This was the first year-to-year increase since early 1998. The ability to raise prices, however small, was a welcome sign that [...]

The U.S. federal government posted a wider budget surplus during January as net revenues held on to a strong increase during December. The surplus, common during past Januarys, nearly doubled y/y to $21.0B. The fiscal year to date [...]

During December, the Leading Index of the Major 7 OECD economies capped a year of slower growth for the full year of 2005, but improvement in the second half. In fact, a 0.6% December rise pulled the average monthly gain during 2H '05 [...]

The U.S. federal government posted a wider budget surplus during January as net revenues held on to a strong increase during December. The surplus, common during past Januarys, nearly doubled y/y to $21.0B. The fiscal year to date [...]