Economy in Brief

• Goods trade deficit widens sharply. • Services trade surplus shrinks to least since 2012. The U.S. current account deficit deepened to $195.7 last quarter from $175.1 billion in Q4'20, revised from $188.5 billion. The Action [...]

What many are missing about price cycles is that they create sustainability of their own. Higher prices generate revenue and income, creating more demand and more revenue and income. Price cycles don't die out; they spread and develop [...]

Of the six entries in the table, the June manufacturing PMIs stepped back in two of them (France & Japan) and are unchanged in another (EMU). The services gauge stepped back only in the U.K. After this month's data, the service sector [...]

• Sales fall for second straight month. • Decline centers in the South. • Median home prices set new record. Sales of new single-family homes declined 5.9% (+9.2% y/y) during May to 769,000 units (SAAR) from 817,000 during April, [...]

• Applications for both purchase and refinance increase. • Rates rise on fixed-rate mortgages, rates ease slightly on adjustable-rate loans. • Average loan size edges down for loans to purchase, increases up for refinance loans. The [...]

• Goods trade deficit widens sharply. • Services trade surplus shrinks to least since 2012. The U.S. current account deficit deepened to $195.7 last quarter from $175.1 billion in Q4'20, revised from $188.5 billion. The Action [...]

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey for the U.K. had another strong showing in June with the net orders reading climbing to +19 from +17 in May. Orders have progressed from averaging -23 over 12 months to averaging -7 [...]

• Existing home sales decline for fourth straight month. • Prices surge to another record high. • Inventory of unsold homes again rose seasonally, but remains low. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that sales of [...]