Economy in Brief: May 2017

Japan's trade surplus backtracked slightly in April and did not expand as expected. While the pattern of surpluses has hinted of a trade turnaround, it now appears that Japan has had a period of an expanding surplus and no longer [...]

The National Activity Index from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago increased to 0.49 during April from 0.07 in March. It was the firmest reading since November 2014. The three-month moving average also strengthened to 0.23, its [...]

As the U.S. unemployment rate declined last month to 4.4%, the lowest level since May 2007, it continued to reflect a wide range of rates amongst states. At the high end were two states which realized unemployment above 6.0%. Several [...]

The German PPI excluding construction (hereafter just PPI or headline PPI) rose by 0.2% in April, the same rate as the PPI excluding energy. But the three-month pace of the PPI gain and the core gain each slowed from their respective [...]

The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.3% (3.2% y/y) during April, the same as in March, initially reported as 0.4%. A 0.3% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index rebounded to 38.8 during May following an unrevised decline to 22.0 in April. The latest monthly reading compared to expectations for [...]

Initial unemployment insurance applications fell to 232,000 during the week ended May 13 from an unrevised 236,000 in the prior week. It was the lowest level of claims since July 1973. Expectations in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

Were the Bundesbank alone in the EMU, there would be no rethinking of anything. The Bundesbank and the Germans are sure that they already know it all and they have no doubt about that. When it comes to running policy in Germany, I [...]