Economy in Brief

For January, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) reported that the Composite Index of activity in the manufacturing sector eased to 54.8 from an upwardly revised level of 55.6 in December. It was the third consecutive monthly [...]

For January, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) reported that the Composite Index of activity in the manufacturing sector eased to 54.8 from an upwardly revised level of 55.6 in December. It was the third consecutive monthly [...]

Economic sentiment in the European Union, and particularly the Euro Zone is improving. The Business Climate Indicator (long-term average = 100) for the individual countries of the European Union, together with the aggregates for the [...]

At today's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the target interest rate for Federal funds was raised 25 basis points to 4.50%, the fourteenth increase since June of 2004. The unanimous decision was widely expected by [...]

The Index of Consumer Confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, rose 2.4% to 106.3 during January. This third consecutive monthly increase exceeded Consensus expectations for a lesser gain to 105.0. The increase was in line [...]

Chain store sales fell a hard 1.1% last week after the modest 0.3% rise during the prior period, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey. The drop lowered the gain in sales during January to 1.0% [...]

For private industry workers, the employment cost index rose a steady 0.8% last quarter. The increases during the last two quarters were up from 0.6% gains during 1Q & 2Q but they were off the 1.0% average of the prior two years. [...]

At today's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the target interest rate for Federal funds was raised 25 basis points to 4.50%, the fourteenth increase since June of 2004. The unanimous decision was widely expected by [...]