Economy in Brief: 2011

In its "final" estimate of economic growth last quarter, the Commerce Department still didn't find much that was materially different from its "advance" reading. Real GDP grew 1.9% (SAAR), the weakest growth since Q2'10. The Q1 [...]

Germany's well-regarded IFO survey shows there has been minimal erosion in the various German key economic sectors. All sectors stand in the top 20% or in a much better position of their historic ranges of hi-low values. When ranked [...]

New orders for durable goods improved 1.9% last month following an April decline of 2.7%, initially reported as -3.6%. The latest increase matched Consensus expectations. Transportation sector orders rebounded 5.8% (14.7% y/y) as [...]

The early read on the European PMIS is called the flash release. This month the indicators are flashing warning signs as growth is fading very fast and ECB head Trichet sees red warning signals of his own. Every picture tells a story, [...]

Total new home sales in May slipped 2.1% m/m to 319,000 (AR) from a little-revised 326,000 in April. The latest figure beat expectations for 310,000 sales according to Action Economics. The figure is consistent with others suggesting [...]

As soft as economic growth was in Q1, this quarter looks no better. The Chicago Fed reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) remained negative at -0.37 in May following a little-revised -0.56 in April. The three-month moving [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance increased to 429,000 during the June 18th week from 420,000 during the week prior, initially reported as 414,000. The latest compared to Consensus expectations for 415,000 claims. The four-week [...]

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee today left the Federal funds rate in a "range from 0 to 1/4 percent." The Fed funds rate has remained unchanged since late-2008 at its lowest level ever. The discount rate also was left [...]