Economy in Brief

• Only the second increase in the past ten weeks. • Increase led by rise in applications for refinancing; applications to purchase posted only a small gain. • Mortgage interest rates fell. The Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage [...]

• TEXT. • TEXT. • TEXT. • Gasoline prices continue to rise prior to the potential effects of the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. • Crude oil prices also continue to rise. • Natural gas prices strengthen. The price of retail gasoline rose [...]

• Job openings increase to another record. • Hiring rate improves slightly. • Layoffs decline while quits stabilize. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that on the last business day of March, the level of job openings rose to a [...]

The OECD leading economic indicators are a set of indicators established to predict the economy's future performance. The OECD prefers the signal of change over six months. The indexes themselves are constructed relative to ‘normalcy' [...]

• Gasoline prices continue to rise prior to the potential effects of the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. • Crude oil prices also continue to rise. • Natural gas prices strengthen. The price of retail gasoline rose 7 cents to $2.96 a [...]

• Incomes boosted in March by another round of government stimulus payments. • Both prices and mortgage rates rise in March. The National Association of Realtors' Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index increased 1.3% in March [...]

• Optimism rebounds to highest level since November. • Improved optimism is widespread amongst survey categories. • Pricing power improves greatly. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that its Small [...]

Baltic dry index points to more international freight demand Export trends show only four of eleven of these countries with exports higher over 12 months as of February. However, over six months, 10 of eleven countries show net export [...]