Economy in Brief: 2015

Economic growth was revised to 2.0% (AR) during Q3'15 from 2.1% reported last month. Expectations had been for a 1.8% increase in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The figures still show improvement from the advance reading of a [...]

German confidence is estimated to rise by the smallest measurable amount in January 2016. While this result is less than stunning, there is little that is more surprising at the moment than the notion that German consumer confidence [...]

Japan's all-sector index rose in October but only stands in the 68th percentile of its historic queue of values, the same as the construction sector. As we have seen in Europe and in the U.S., the manufacturing sector lags badly. The [...]

The Chicago Federal Reserve reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) during November fell to a three-month low of -0.30 from -0.17 in October, revised from -0.04. The 3-month moving average eased to -0.20, its weakest reading [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported that manufacturing sector business activity in the region deteriorated sharply during December, and completely reversed the improvement during the prior three months. The Composite [...]

The French PPI excluding construction rose by 0.2% in November after being flat in October and falling by 0.4% in September. The harmonized PPI also excluding construction rose by 0.1% in November after being flat in October and down [...]

The U.S. Current Account Deficit increased to $124.1 billion in Q3 from $111.1 billion in Q2, and was the largest deficit since Q4'08. The data are seasonally adjusted. The deficit in goods trade was fairly steady Q/Q but the services [...]

The Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.4% during November following an unrevised 0.6% October rise. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a 0.2% November gain. Three-month growth in the index [...]