Economy in Brief: 2011

The Commerce Department reported that real GDP grew just 1.3% (SAAR) last quarter. The figure was disappointing for several reasons. It fell short of Consensus expectations for 1.7% growth and it was the softest reading since Q2'09. [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending sales of existing single-family homes rose 2.4% last month after an unrevised 8.2% May increase. Despite the recent improvement, sales for the second quarter fell 3.4% [...]

EU sentiment is on the downslope. The rate of increase is slowing steadily on its Yr/Yr comparisons (see chart) and the monthly numbers are clustering around negative readings. The index standings are no longer high to moderate. [...]

In a sign of labor market healing, initial unemployment insurance claims fell last week to 398,000 versus a revised 422,000 during the week prior, initially reported as 418,000. The latest figure was the lowest since the first week of [...]

Released yesterday, chain store sales rose 0.3% last week for the fifth consecutive weekly gain. The increase pulled sales to a record high and up 3.7% in July versus June. During the last ten years there has been a 66% correlation [...]

Overall mortgage applications fell 5.0% last week. The decline left applications for the month down 5.2% versus June. Applications to refinance fell 5.5% and were down 7.1% for the month. Applications to purchase a home were off 3.8% [...]

The Confederation of British industry (CBI) survey for industrial trades is showing a clear weakening profile for orders, its cycle-leading component. These trends essentially confirm what the early, or 'flash,' UK GDP reading told [...]

New orders for durable goods fell 2.1% last month following an unrevised 1.9% May rise. A 0.4% increase had been the Consensus expectation. Transportation sector orders led the fall and slumped 8.5% (+9.5% y/y). Bookings for aircraft [...]