Economy in Brief: July 2013

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 80.3 this month from an upwardly revised 82.1 in June, weighted down by the over-35 crowd. Consensus expectations had been for 81.0. During the last ten years, there has been [...]

Home price improvement remains the strongest since 2006. The seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller 20 City Home Price Index rose 1.0% (12.1% y/y) during May following its unrevised 1.7% April advance. The 3-month annualized rate of [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that its General Business Activity Index fell to 4.4 this month from 6.5 during June. The series, nevertheless, remained improved from its spring lows. Monthly deterioration in the index [...]

Italian business and consumer confidence improved in July. Both series- with special emphasis on the consumer series- increased sharply in June and have followed that up with another gain in July. That improvement continues in July [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending sales of single-family homes during June edged 0.4% lower (+10.9% y/y) after a downwardly revised 5.8% increase during May. The latest level, nevertheless, remained [...]

The consumer feels good. The reading from the Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment during all of July rose to 85.1 from 84.1 in June. The full-month number improved from the preliminary figure of 83.8. The [...]

French household confidence has risen from 79 in June to a level of 82 in July. However, the rebound is a pretty shallow affair. While the index reading is higher than it was in May and in June when the level stood at 79, apart from [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 343,000 (-5.5% y/y) during the week ended July 20 from a revised 336,000 during the week prior, initially reported as 334,000. The latest figure compared to an expected 337,000 in the [...]