Economy in Brief: 2016

Total retail sales & spending at restaurants were virtually unchanged during July (2.3% y/y) following a 0.8% June rise, revised from 0.6%. Consensus expectations had been for 0.4% growth in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Auto [...]

We can identify four key measures of Italian inflation. By two these measures month-to-month inflation was stable in July; by two others inflation ticked higher month-to-month. On a year-over-year basis, inflation is stable on three [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance eased to 266,000 during the week ended August 6 following 267,000 claims in the week prior, revised from 269,000. Claims remained near the lowest level since 1973. The four-week moving average [...]

Import prices edged 0.1% higher (-3.7% y/y) during July following a 0.6% June gain, revised from 0.2%. The rise compared to expectations for a 0.4% fall in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These figures are not seasonally [...]

So far in FY'16, the federal government's budget deficit totaled $513.7 billion, up 10.4% versus $465.5 billion in the first ten months of FY'15. That result was highlighted in today's U.S. Treasury Department report of a $112.8 [...]

The National Association of Realtors reported that the Composite Index of Home Affordability declined 3.8% during June to 153.3, the lowest level since November 2008. The index was 28.5% below its peak in January 2013. During the last [...]

Fresh observations (recently released data) on Japan's machinery orders and tertiary sector index (services) in June give off somewhat positive but still mixed signals, referring to an economy that is still under the pressure of the [...]

The total job openings rate nudged higher to 3.8% during June following a May decline to 3.7%. The record high of 3.9% had been reached in April. The private sector job openings rate also improved to 4.0% from 3.9%, but remained below [...]