Economy in Brief: 2019

The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the federal government ran a $119.7 billion budget deficit during July compared to a $76.9 billion shortfall posted one year earlier. A $117.5 billion deficit had been expected in the Action [...]

Portugal is not typically one of the low inflation countries in the EMU. That makes its 1.2% price drop in July and its year-on-year drop of 0.7% all the more striking. Compared to early members, Portugal ranks as the country with the [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) declined 3.1% during the last four weeks. The price index was down 13.0% y/y and has fallen to the lowest level since [...]

As the date for Brexit approaches, the impact from the collision has preceded its arrival! GDP, unexpectedly, has fallen in Q2. Newly minted PM Boris Johnson has said that preparing for a hard Brexit is his top priority. Preparation [...]

The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.2% during July (1.7% y/y) following two months of 0.1% gain. The rise matched expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Producer prices excluding food & energy slipped 0.1% [...]

All of the OECD groups show declines in June and for the six months ended in June…all show declines for the previous six months as well. It is a well-flagged entrenched slowdown. For data by country, all ten in the table show LEI [...]

Wholesale inventories were unchanged (7.6% y/y) during June following an unrevised 0.4% May increase. A 0.2% rise was expected in the Informa Global Markets Survey. Durable goods inventories increased 0.3% (10.1% y/y) in June after [...]

Initial unemployment insurance claims declined to 209,000 (-3.5% y/y) during the week ended August 3 from 217,000 in the prior week, revised from 215,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 215,000 initial claims. The four- [...]