Economy in Brief

A perusal of the early reporters of PPI results in the EMU shows clear-cut broad and virulent inflation at work. Of the 14 countries in table (of which 12 are EMU members; Sweden and Denmark are not), all show price increases in April [...]

• Applications are down one-third so far this year. • Both purchase & refinancing applications dropped last week. • Mortgage interest rates are little changed. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Loan Applications Index fell 4.0% [...]

• Gasoline prices remain strong versus last year. • Crude oil prices rise further. • Natural gas prices decline again. Retail gasoline prices rose to $3.03 per gallon (53.3% y/y) in the week ended May 31 and recaptured the prior [...]

• Current production, new orders growth and employment ease. • Pricing power remains strong. The Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey, conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, indicated that its General Business Activity Index [...]

• Residential building remains strong. • Private nonresidential & public sector building drop again. The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.2% (9.8% y/y) during April following a 1.0% March rise, revised from 0.2%. A 0.6% [...]

• Factory activity expands for 12th consecutive month. • Component movement is mixed. • Pricing power remains strong. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its Composite Index of Manufacturing Sector Activity [...]

• Barometer jumps to highest level since November 1973. • New orders & order backlogs continue to surge. • Delivery speeds slow and pricing power remains strong. The ISM-Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer strengthened to [...]

• Spending on goods weakens broadly; services purchases rise. • Increase in core prices hits twenty-year high. • Total take-home earnings decline but wages surge. Personal consumption expenditures increased 0.5% during April (28.5% [...]