Economy in Brief: July 2012

New home sales fell 8.4% last month to 350,000 from 382,000 in May, earlier reported as 350,000. June sales fell short of consensus expectations for 369,000. A two-thirds plunge in sales in the Northeast left them unchanged y/y. Sales [...]

The purchasing managers in the Euro Area surveyed by Markit Economics continue to be cautious in their appraisal of the economy. The July flash estimate for the Composite diffusion index is 46.3819, above the June flash estimate of [...]

The U.S. House Price Index from the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) rose 0.8% during May following a 0.7% April increase. It was the fourth consecutive monthly gain and lifted the y/y increase to 3.7%. That gain followed [...]

Consumers' inclination to spend remained in place last week. Chain store sales rose 1.0% w/w (3.3% y/y) and are 3.6% higher than in June. During the last ten years there has been a 72% correlation between the y/y change in chain store [...]

The pump price of regular gasoline rose another six cents last week to $3.49 per gallon. Since the low three weeks ago prices have risen 14 cents (4.1%). Haver Analytics' seasonally-adjusted price for regular rose eight cents to $3.28 [...]

May data for world trade and production were released today by the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analyses. (The data are found in the G10 Haver Data Base.) The CPB is part of the Netherland Ministry of Economic Affairs, [...]

The National Activity Index (CFNAI) from the Chicago Federal Reserve improved to -0.15 from a revised -0.48 in May, reported as -0.45 last month. The three-month moving rose to -0.20 but remained near its lowest reading since June of [...]

Mass layoffs in the U.S. during June continued lower. The Labor Department reported this morning that layoffs of 50 or more persons from a single firm slipped by a seasonally adjusted 4.6% (-13.0% y/y) to 1,317 following a 0.6% May [...]