Economy in Brief: 2015

Total sales of light vehicles increased 3.3% during July to 17.55 million units (SAAR, 6.2% y/y), recovering most of June's decline from the cycle high. Light truck purchases improved 3.9% to 9.75 million units (14.0% y/y), the [...]

The value of construction put-in-place ticked 0.1% higher during June (12.3% y/y) following gains of 1.8% and 3.8% during the prior two months. These were much stronger than reported earlier. Three-month growth of 25.2% (AR) was [...]

The Composite Index from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) fell to 52.7 during July following unrevised gains to 53.5 and 52.8 during the prior two months. Improvement to 53.8 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

Personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2% during June following 0.7% and 0.3% gains during May and April, revised from 0.9% and 0.1%. The latest was the smallest rise since February and matched expectations in the Action [...]

The manufacturing PMIs in the EMU show a monthly reduction in the PMI for the EMU as a whole and declines in four of six early reporters. Only France is showing manufacturing contraction in July. The EMU has a percentile standing at [...]

Chicago purchasing managers reported that their July Business Barometer Index improved to 54.7 following an unrevised rise to 49.4 in June. It was first month in the last three above the break-even level of 50 and the highest level [...]

The employment cost index for civilian workers improved 0.2% in Q2'15 (2.0% y/y), following an unrevised 0.7% Q1 rise. This Q2 performance was the weakest on record and the number fell short of expectations for a 0.6% rise according [...]

he EU unemployment rate is unchanged in June at 9.6%. The EMU rate is at 11.1%, also unchanged from the previous month. The unemployment rate is still falling in both the EU and the EMU over three months, six months and 12 months. But [...]