Economy in Brief: September 2020

The IFO index and its two principal components, the current index and expectations index, all improved in September. The sector responses showed an improvement in manufacturing and some weakness in services but not quite as much [...]

• Seasonally adjusted initial claims in state programs edged up 4,000 in September 19 week to 870,000; not seasonally adjusted claims rose 29,000 to 825,000. • PUA program initial claims fell 45,074 to lowest in four weeks. • Insured [...]

• Expectations also weakened slightly. • Pricing power improved. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported that their manufacturing sector business activity index fell to 11 in September after increasing to 14 in August. These [...]

• Seasonally adjusted initial claims in state programs edged up 4,000 in September 19 week to 870,000; not seasonally adjusted claims rose 29,000 to 825,000. • PUA program initial claims fell 45,074 to lowest in four weeks. • Insured [...]

• New single-family home sales increased to highest level since September 2006. • Sales improvement varied m/m across the country. • Prices weakened notably. Sales of new single-family homes increased 4.8% during August (43.2% y/y) to [...]

• FHFA home price index gains continue to improve. • Price increases are widespread across the country. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index strengthened 1.0% during July following a like increase in June, revised [...]

• Applications bounce back after prior week's decline. • Mortgage rates edge higher. The Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Loan Applications Index increased 6.8% (57.8% y/y) in the week ended September 18 after declines in four of [...]

• Existing home sales improved last month to highest level since December 2006. • Sales strength continued to reflect gains across the nation. • Pricing power increased. The housing market remains on a firm footing. The National [...]