Economy in Brief: 2004

The Conference Board’s September Index of Consumer Confidence slipped another 1.9% to 96.8 following a 6.6% decline in August that was revised slightly shallower versus the initial report. Consensus expectations had been for a reading [...]

The Conference Board’s September Index of Consumer Confidence slipped another 1.9% to 96.8 following a 6.6% decline in August that was revised slightly shallower versus the initial report. Consensus expectations had been for a reading [...]

German business confidence declined slightly in September. The Munich based IFO institute's confidence index (2000=100) fell to 95.3 in August to 95.2 in September, but was 2.37% above September, 2003. There was a slight improvement [...]

Sales of new single-family homes recovered in August to 1.184M. The 9.4% m/m rise followed declines of 7.3% and 6.2% in the prior two months and the decline in July was revised slightly deeper versus the initial estimate. Consensus [...]

Sales of new single-family homes recovered in August to 1.184M. The 9.4% m/m rise followed declines of 7.3% and 6.2% in the prior two months and the decline in July was revised slightly deeper versus the initial estimate. Consensus [...]

Capital goods orders in the UK, that is, in the "engineering" sector, were reported today for July. Total new orders were up 1.1% in the month, with orders on hand (i.e., the order "backlog" or "book") rising 0.3%. (See the first [...]

Existing single family home sales fell 2.7% in August to 6.54M following an unrevised 2.9% drop in July. Consensus expectations had been for a lesser decline to 6.72M. The figures reflect closings of home sales in earlier months. [...]

Mass layoffs in the US as reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics plunged 61.4% in August to the lowest level since August 2000. The decline, however, followed sharp increases in the prior two months. The number of firms reporting [...]