Economy in Brief: January 2012

New orders for durable goods increased 3.0% last month following a 4.3% rise during November. The full-year gain in orders of 10.1% after the 15.4% rise in 2010 and was consistent with other indications of factory sector improvement [...]

The Chicago Fed's National Activity Index (CFNAI) provided another indication of modest economic improvement. For December, the index rose to 0.17 from -0.46 in November, which was little-revised. The latest figure was its highest [...]

First-time claims for jobless insurance rose last week but the recent trend lower remained intact. Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 377,000 last week from 356,000 during the previous period (revised from 352,000). [...]

A one-month drop belies a firming trend. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that December pending sales of single-family homes fell 3.5% (+5.6% y/y) following two months of strong increase. Sales rose 7.3% in November [...]

The index of total mortgage applications slipped 5.0% last week to 663.1 (March 16, 1990 = 100). The decline followed the prior week's nearly one-quarter jump. As borrowers took advantage of low interest rates, applications to [...]

The January "Flash" estimates of the Purchasing Managers' diffusion indexes for the Euro Area continued the increases that began at the end of last year. The Composite index was up 2.7 points to 50.4, the first time the index was in [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported that its Composite Index of Manufacturing Sector Activity improved during January to 12 from 3 in December. The latest was the highest level since March but compared unfavorably to the [...]

After Christmas, shoppers seem to have turned less jolly. Chain store sales fell 1.4% last week (+2.8% y/y). The decline pulled the January average 3.1% below December when sales rose 1.1%. During the last ten years there has been a [...]