Economy in Brief: April 2011

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee today left the Federal funds rate in a "range from 0 to 1/4 percent." The Fed funds rate has remained unchanged since late-2008 at its lowest level ever. The discount rate also was left [...]

Industrial orders in the Zone continue to expand sharply. Over the recent three months orders have accelerated to a rate of 19.6% up from an annual rate of increase of just 8.4% over six months but still a touch short of their 21.3% [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that overall mortgage applications fell 5.6% last week and reversed the prior week's gain. The latest was the lowest level since early-February. Applications to purchase a home fell 13.6% w/w. [...]

New orders for durable goods jumped 2.5% last month after a 0.7% February gain, revised up from -0.9% reported initially. Consensus expectations were for a 1.5% increase. Another jump in transportation sector orders fueled last [...]

The monetary authorities in Japan and the United States appear to be more concerned about the pace of recovery than about inflation. They are showing little signs of raising their very low official rates--close to zero in Japan, and [...]

Industrial orders continue to make gains in the uneven UK economy. The order indicator rose to plus-five in March from a reading of minus-eight in February making it the tenth largest month to month change in orders going back to [...]

After the shock from last month's spike in gasoline prices, consumers gathered their senses. For April, the Conference Board reported that its index of consumer confidence rose to 65.4, up 2.5% from March following that month's [...]

Home prices continue weak and fell during February to their lowest since mid-2003. The seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index fell 0.2% after a revised 0.3% January drop, initially reported as down 0.2%. It was the [...]