The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported that its April Composite index of 10th District factory sector activity remained firm at 7 versus 10 in March. The figures were at the highest levels since early 2012. The composite [...]
- Global| Apr 24 2014
Kansas City Fed Survey Remains Elevated
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Apr 24 2014
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise During Easter Week
Difficulties adjusting for the timing of the Easter holiday may be behind last week's rise in initial unemployment insurance claims to 329,000 (-4.1% y/y). The increase was from a little-revised 305,000 in the week ended April 12. [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Apr 24 2014
Ifo Shows Unexpected Strength as Europe Makes Some Progress
Climate in Germany's Ifo index improved unexpectedly in April. The climate index moved to 14.8 in April from 13.8 in March with current conditions improving to 18.9 from 18.7 as expectations rose to 10.8 from 9.0. The rise in [...]
- Global| Apr 24 2014
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Post Another Solid Advance
The manufacturing sector is recovering well following a rough winter. New orders for durable goods gained 2.6% (9.1% y/y) last month following a little-revised 2.1% February rise. The increase beat expectations for a 1.9% rise in the [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Apr 23 2014
U.S. New Home Sales Unexpectedly Decline Sharply
New home sales during March fell 14.5% to 384,000 (-13.3% y/y), the lowest level since July. February sales were revised to 449,000, initially reported as 440,000. The latest figure disappointed expectations for 450,000 sales in the [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Apr 23 2014
Italian Trade Trends: A One Month Back-off
Italian exports and imports are both engaged in a longer-term trend of sweeping upward after an extended period of showing year-over-year declines (see Chart). Exports currently are up at a 3% annual rate over 12 months while imports [...]
- Global| Apr 23 2014
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Decline as Interest Rates Tick Higher
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index declined 3.3% last week (-59.2% y/y) and reversed most of the prior week's increase. Applications remained two-thirds below the peak in September [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- Global| Apr 22 2014
U.S. State Unemployment Rates Continue Downward
The overall U.S. unemployment rate declined last month to 6.7% from 10.0% at its late-2009 peak. Falling jobless rates occurred throughout the country, but there was great variation amongst individual states. The country's largest [...]
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
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