Economy in Brief: 2020

• Spending gain is strong for second consecutive month. • Personal income decline reflects fewer government payments. • Price inflation picks up with higher energy prices. Personal consumption expenditures increased 5.6% in June [...]

• Growth of overall compensation slowed to 0.5% q/q in 2020 Q2, slightly below expectations. • Wages and salaries growth accounted for the slowdown while benefits picked up. The employment cost index (ECI) for civilian workers rose [...]

Japan's industrial production gained 2.7% in June after an 8.9% fall in May and a bigger drop in April. While the various growth rates over different tenors (see Chart) are slowing over more recent horizons, there is no reversal in [...]

The European Commission economic sentiment gauge for the EMU improved again in July, rising to 82.3 from June’s 75.8. However, it still has a queue standing in its 7.8 percentile, marking it as lower than this less 8% of the time. The [...]

• Coronavirus shuts down consumption & investment • Housing declines sharply but government spending increases. • Price inflation turns negative. U.S. GDP declined 32.9% (AR) during Q2 2020 following an unrevised 5.0% Q1 fall. The [...]

• Coronavirus shuts down consumption & investment. • Housing declines sharply but government spending increases. • Price inflation turns negative. U.S. GDP declined 32.9% (AR) during Q2 2020 following an unrevised 5.0% Q1 fall. The [...]

• State initial jobless claims increased to 1.434 million in the week ending July 25, the second consecutive weekly gain. • Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance new filers declined to 829,697. • Continuing claims for state [...]

• Trade deficit in goods narrows to $70.64 billion. • Exports surge 13.9% while imports rise 5.4%. • Strength in exports is broad-based. The advance U.S. trade report showed the goods trade deficit narrowed to $70.64 billion in June [...]