Economy in Brief: 2019

The GfK consumer climate reading went dead flat in September at 9.7, stopping three straight months of decline and yet keeping intact a legacy of steady weakening from February 2019. There is even a broader though less steady state of [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index fell 6.2% w/w (+67.5% y/y) during the week ending August 23, as mortgage interest rates ticked up, following a 0.9% w/w decline in the previous week. [...]

The U.S. pump price for gasoline eased to $2.57 per gallon (-8.9% y/y) last week from the prior week's $2.60 per gallon. Prices have fallen for six consecutive weeks. Haver Analytics calculates a series which is adjusted for the [...]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that its House Price Index for home purchases inched 0.1% higher during May... The FHFA house price index is a weighted purchase-only index that measures average price changes in [...]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index edged down 0.5% (+0.3% y/y) in August to 135.1 (1985=100) from 135.8 in July. Despite this slight monthly decrease in the index, it was stronger than the estimate in the Action [...]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index edged down 0.5% (+0.3% y/y) in August to 135.1 (1985=100) from 135.8 in July. Despite this slight monthly decrease in the index, it was stronger than the estimate in the Action [...]

A one-month bounce amid trend confusion The French industry climate gauge for manufacturing may have bounced higher in August, but there is no sense in which climate is turning the corner and improving. It’s just a monthly wiggle that [...]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index edged up 0.1% in June, following a 0.2% increase in May. Over the last year, home prices are up 4.8%, the slowest rate of increase and the first time home price appreciation has [...]