Economy in Brief: 2004

Retail sales fell 0.3% last month, about as expected, following a 0.8% gain in July that was little revised. Excluding motor vehicles & parts dealers sales rose 0.2% after a little revised 0.3% gain in July. Consensus expectations had [...]

Inflation in China is beginning to focus attention once more on its foreign exchange peg. The Chinese Yuan has remained close of 8.3 Yuan to the US dollar since the devaluation of January 1994. Consumer prices in August were 5.3% [...]

The Index of Leading Indicators for the Major Seven OECD Countries fell slightly in July and continued the lackluster performance of the last five months. Since February the leading index is about unchanged and the index's six-month [...]

The Index of Leading Indicators for the Major Seven OECD Countries fell slightly in July and continued the lackluster performance of the last five months. Since February the leading index is about unchanged and the index's six-month [...]

Employment and unemployment data in Canada showed little change in August. Employment fell by 7,000 workers, falling short of forecasters' expectations of a 15,000-20,000 increase. But the unemployment rate remained at July's 7.2%, a [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit fell in July but remained at the second highest level on record at $50.1B. Consensus expectations had been for a deficit of $51.5B. Exports rebounded 3.0% following the 3.9% slump in June that was [...]

The finished goods PPI fell 0.1% in August versus Consensus expectations for a 0.2% rise.Producer prices less food & energy also declined 0.1% versus expectations for a 0.1% gain. Finished energy prices inched just 0.2% higher (10.0% [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped 44,000 to 319,000 last week, the lowest level in two months. The Consensus forecast had beenfor 345,000 claims. The 4-week moving average of initial claims fell to 339,250 (-16.0% [...]