Economy in Brief: 2015

The U.K. industrial sector is showing signs of a slowdown. U.K. industry total orders fell to -7 in September from -1 in August. The reading is substantially weaker than its 12-month average which is also -1. In the historic sweep of [...]

Gasoline prices at the pump fell last week to the lowest level since February. Averaging $2.33 per gallon (-30.6% y/y), gasoline was down 5 cents from a week earlier and below $2.84 in mid-June. Haver Analytics constructs factors [...]

Sales of existing homes declined 4.8% (-5.4% y/y) during August to 5.310 million (AR) from 5.580 million in July, revised from 5.590 million. July sales were the strongest since February 2007. The latest figure fell short of [...]

Sales of existing homes declined 4.8% (-5.4% y/y) during August to 5.310 million (AR) from 5.580 million in July, revised from 5.590 million. July sales were the strongest since February 2007. The latest figure fell short of [...]

The chart displays the three key frequencies of growth I regularly calculate for the German PPI. It plots them and clearly reveals the last four cycles in German PPI pressure. The three-month percentage change leads the parade of [...]

Total borrowing in the U.S. resumed a more normal pace in Q2, according to the Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts of the U.S., following a much smaller amount in Q1. Indeed, Q1 net paydowns by the federal government and the [...]

Italy's current account surplus shrank in July as exports and imports both fell. Declining trade flows may get greater scrutiny now that the U.S. Federal Reserve has put its rate hike plans on hold. Judging from market reactions, [...]

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index improved 0.1% during August following no change in July, revised from -0.2%. June's 0.6% increase was unrevised. The Action Economics Forecast Survey had anticipated a 0.2% rise. Three-month [...]