Economy in Brief: September 2014

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index declined 4.1% last week (-25.1% y/y) following the prior week's 7.9% rise. Applications were near the lowest level of the economic recovery. [...]

In the wake of the weak PMI data from Markit released yesterday, it's not surprising to see that the German Ifo index continues to slip in September. The Ifo all-sector index has fallen from 5.3 in August to a level of 2.3 in [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported that its September Composite Index of Manufacturing Sector activity improved to 14 from 12 in August. It was the highest level since February 2011. Driving the index higher was improvement [...]

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales ticked 0.1% higher last week following a sharp 2.6% decline during the prior week. They strengthened, however, by 4.1% y/y due to declines [...]

The price for a gallon of regular gasoline declined to $3.35 last week (-4.1% y/y) and remained at the lowest level since mid-February. To account for seasonal patterns, Haver Analytics constructs factors for adjustment of pump [...]

The U.S. House Price Index from the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) ticked 0.1% higher (4.5% y/y) during July following a 0.3% June gain, revised from 0.4%. The latest increase was the weakest in three months and lowered the [...]

The euro area continues to struggle in September with its flash private sector gauge falling to 52.3 from 52.8 August. This is the lowest flash value for the index since December 2013. While the six-month average is still above the [...]

Sales of existing single-family homes declined 2.4% to 5.050 million (AR) during August (-5.3% y/y) from 5.140 million in July, last month reported as 5.150 million. Sales were 6.3% below the peak reached last July. The latest level [...]