Economy in Brief: 2011

German exports fell by 1.8% in July after falling by 1.2% in June. But the preceding months found German exports very volatile rising by 4.3% in May falling by 5.6% in April and surging by 7.2% in March and so on. With volatility like [...]

The foreign trade deficit narrowed to $44.8B in July from a revised $51.6B in June, initially reported as $53.1B. Expectations had been for $51.0B, according to Action Economics. Exports jumped 3.6% and more-than-recovered the June [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 414,000 last week from 412,000 during the week prior (revised from 409,000). The latest figure exceeded expectations for 405,000 claims according to the Action Economics survey. The [...]

The total index of mortgage applications fell 4.9% last week to 601.0 (March 16, 1990 = 100). The decline was due to a 6.3% drop in applications to refinance, down for the third straight week. Applications to purchase a home nudged up [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the July job openings rate held steady m/m at 2.4%. The latest reading remained improved versus the recession low of 1.6%. The job [...]

Industrial output in Germany rose by a sharp 4% in July after falling by 1% in June. With consumer goods slackening their pace over three-months capital goods output is ramping up over all horizons. Capital goods orders surged by 7.5% [...]

Consumer spending has lost forward momentum. Chain store sales fell 0.7% last week and were down 1.5% from the August average. Sales fell 1.8% during August but remained up 2.7% y/y. During the last ten years there has been a 66% [...]

The pump price for regular gasoline rose another four cents last week to $3.67 per gallon. Nevertheless, prices remained down twenty-nine cents since the May peak. Pump prices usually rise this time of year with increased seasonal [...]