Economy in Brief

Retail sales rose in December but did not gain back all the ground lost in November’s drop. December brought a month-to-month gain in sales volume of 2% in the wake of November’s 5.7% monthly drop. In fact, retail sales growth rates [...]

• Factory orders have risen in each month since May 2020. • Inventory accumulation continues. • Order backlogs decline further. Manufacturing activity continues to strengthen. Factory orders rose in December for an eighth consecutive [...]

• State initial claims fall 33,000; PUA claims have bigger decline of 54,678. • Continuing claims decrease 193,000; prior week revised modestly higher but still declines. • Insured jobless rate 3.2%, lowest since March 21, when [...]

• Nonfarm worker productivity posts deepest drop in forty years. • Compensation increases moderately. • Unit labor costs surge. Nonfarm business sector productivity declined 4.8% (SAAR, +2.5% y/y) during Q4'20 following a 5.1% Q3 [...]

The J.P.Morgan global PMI index is weaker month-to-month in January 2021. Emerging markets are weaker on the month, but developed economies are slightly stronger. In January, 10 of 22 countries report weaker conditions than one month [...]

• Service sector activity improves for third straight month. • Component activity remains mixed. • Pricing power is little changed. The Composite Index of Services Activity from the Institute for Supply Management rose to 58.7 during [...]

• Job increase more-than-recoups December decline. • Broad-based sector gains are logged. • Medium-sized payrolls post strongest increase. Despite the COVID-19 epidemic and winter weather, the labor market improved last month. The ADP [...]

• Led by surge in refinancing applications; purchase applications little changed. • Fixed mortgage interest rates mixed while adjustable rates jumped up. The Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Loan Applications Index rebounded in [...]