Economy in Brief

• Slower GDP growth reflects broad-based component weakening. • Decline in activity during 2020 is largest of post-WWII period. • Price gain eases in Q4. Recovery from the Q2'20 downturn in economic activity is continuing at a [...]

• State initial claims fall 67,000; PUA claims ease 20,472. • Continuing claims ease, with prior week revised a bit lower. • Insured jobless rate ticks down to 3.4%. Initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased to 847,000 in [...]

• Leading index rises 0.3% in December as slowdown from the 0.7% gain in November. • Seven components increase, led by ISM manufacturing new orders. • Three decrease, most notably the contribution from jobless claims. The Conference [...]

• Narrowing larger than expected. • Still, net exports were a meaningful drag on overall GDP growth in Q4. • Export growth picked up while import growth slowed in December. The advance estimate of the U.S. trade deficit in goods [...]

• • PREVIOUS>>>>>>>>The Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Loan Applications Index fell 1.9% w/w (+56.2% y/y) in the weekend January 15............. This survey covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications [...]

The Federal Reserve left the target for the Fed funds rate in a range of 0.00% to 0.25% at today's meeting of the FOMC. The Fed continued to assert, "The COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the [...]

The forward-looking GfK consumer confidence/climate gauge for February has stumbled for the fourth month in a row. Month-to-month the climate gauge fell by 8.1 points, its largest one-month drop since May 2020. Broad headline and [...]

• Orders increase is reduced by orders for commercial aircraft decline. • Bookings less transportation orders remain firm. • Shipments surge while inventories & order backlogs ease. Factory sector activity remains on a firm footing. [...]