Economy in Brief: April 2013

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for April fell 2.8% to 76.4, unchanged y/y, from 78.6 in March. The figure was improved versus a mid-month reading of 72.3. It compared to the consensus forecast for 73.3. [...]

Economic growth rebounded during Q1'13 as businesses replenished inventories depleted during Q4'12. Real GDP growth of 2.5% last quarter (1.8% y/y) followed a tepid 0.4% increase at the end of the year. Expectations were for a 3.1% [...]

The details for the German IFO index show that in terms of current conditions deceleration is rampant across all sectors of the German economy except for retailing. The German retailing sector index edged higher from 5.8 in March to a [...]

The economic recovery continues to strengthen the labor market. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 339,000 (-11.0% y/y) during the week ended April 20 from a revised 355,000 during the prior week, initially reported as [...]

The IFO index, a survey of the German economy, fell sharply from a +6 reading in March to a reading of 1.5 in April. While a small positive number, the 1.5 reading stands in the 66.7 percentile or the top third of its historic range. [...]

The index of total mortgage applications from the Mortgage Bankers Association nudged up 0.2% (24.4% y/y) last week. The rise reflected a 0.3% gain (26.6% y/y) in applications to refinance an existing loan. Home purchase mortgage [...]

Total durable goods orders during March fell 5.7% (+0.5% y/y) following a downwardly revised 4.3% increase in February. A 3.0% decline had been expected. Last month's decline was led by a 15.0% drop (+2.5% y/y) in transportation [...]

The U.S. House Price Index from the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) rose 0.7% during February, following four consecutive months of similar increase. The 7.1% y/y rise was its strongest since the middle of 2006; it followed [...]