Economy in Brief: 2011

On two counts the National Association of Home Builders report on housing market activity this month was a disappointment. First, the September figure fell back to 14, near its lowest of the recovery. Second, it was short of Consensus [...]

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for mid-September bounced slightly higher to 57.8 following its August plunge to 55.7. A reading of 56.0 had been expected by Action Economics. Nevertheless, the reading was [...]

Withering from heights - The chart offers a very clear picture of euro-trends. Export growth is withering. Import growth is withering in step. As a result the EMU external trade deficit has steadied at around -Ć2.5bln. Near term [...]

Unlike the modest uptick in the Philadelphia Fed's index, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported yesterday that its Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions fell to -8.82 in September. The number was weaker [...]

UK retail sales were flat in August. While three-month sales growth rates showed some life, UK retail sales have all the earmarks of a sector with not much going on. UK inflation remains stubborn with the HICP up by 4.5% Yr/Yr in [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's index of regional factory sector for September recovered a piece of its August deterioration. Today's Philadelphia Fed General Activity index rose to -17.5 from an unrevised -30.7 in August. The [...]

U.S. industrial production inched up 0.1% last month following a 1.0% July gain, originally reported as 0.9%. The latest increase matched Consensus expectations, according to Action Economics. Factory sector output gained 0.4% as [...]

Job market improvement is no more. Initial claims for unemployment insurance jumped to 428,000 last week from 417,000 during the week prior (revised from 414,000). The latest figure was the highest since the last week of June and it [...]