Economy in Brief: October 2013

Job growth has ratcheted down. The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report indicated a 130,000 rise (1.8% y/y) in non-farm private sector jobs during October, the weakest gain in six months. It followed downwardly revised increases of [...]

The producer price index for finished goods was a mixed bag in September with only a modest change in total, which eased 0.1% (+ 0.3% y/y) following August's 0.3% increase. Consensus expectations looked for a 0.2% rise. Prices [...]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 71.2 this month versus 80.2 during September, last month reported as 79.7. The level of the confidence index peaked at 82.1 in June. Consensus expectations were for a decline to [...]

The 0.9% August gain in the seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller 20 City Home Price Index pulled the twelve-month rise to 12.8%, its greatest since February 2006. Notwithstanding this result, the 3-month annualized rate of increase fell [...]

Retail sales and food services posted a 0.1% slip (+3.2% y/y) during September following an unrevised 0.2% August rise. A 0.1% uptick had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. A 2.2% decline (+5.1% y/y) in motor [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that September pending sales of single-family homes fell 5.6% m/m, down for the fourth straight month. Sales in September were at the lowest level since December. Sales declined [...]

Sweden's seasonally adjusted Kroner-based trade data show a sharply larger surplus in August followed by a near normal surplus in September. Sweden's exports and imports both fell again in September. The trade data, though seasonally [...]

Industrial production rose 0.6% during September (3.1% y/y) following an unrevised 0.4% August increase. A 0.3% gain had been expected in the Action Economics survey. A strong 4.4% rise (4.4% y/y) in utility output paced last month's [...]