Economy in Brief: March 2020

With shutdowns, lockdowns, and Schengen-defying border closures at work in different places on different timelines, the one constant in the EMU is the weakness that has spread across the euro area. Activity had peaked near the end of [...]

U.S. Pending Home Sales Improve Ahead of Coronavirus by Tom Moeller March 30, 2020 The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending home sales increased 2.4% in February (9.4% y/y) to the highest level since December [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index weakened to -70.0 this month from 1.2 in February. The decline mirrored the readings from other regional [...]

A number of countries are reeling under the sting of the coronavirus and infection of COVID-19 the disease it spawns. But no country is battling harder than Italy whose economy is now starting to show some severe strains. The EU [...]

Personal income increased 0.6% (4.0% y/y) in February as it did in January. A 0.4% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Wages & salaries improved 0.5% (3.3% y/y) for a second month, reflecting strength in [...]

Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.2% (4.9% y/y) in February, the same as in January. A 0.3% gain had been expected. In constant dollars, total spending edged 0.1% higher (3.0% y/y) for a third consecutive month. Real durable [...]

U.S. GDP was unrevised in the fourth quarter of 2019 at 2.1% (SAAR) the same as in the advance estimate and the February report. The latest number followed 3.1% in Q1 2019, 2.0% in Q2 and 2.1% in Q3, producing Q4/Q4 growth of 2.3% and [...]

PREVIOUS >>> Initial jobless claims for unemployment insurance surged by 70,000 to 281,000 (+28.3% y/y) in the March 14 week........ Continuing claims for unemployment insurance were 1.701 million in the week ended March 7............ [...]