Economy in Brief

• Headline index slipped to 15.0 in September from 17.2. • But underlying details were noticeably stronger, particularly shipments. • Expectations rebound sharply. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its General [...]

• New home building declined m/m but remained higher y/y. • Building permits eased. Housing starts declined 5.1% (+2.8% y/y) during August to 1.416 million (SAAR) from 1.492 million during July, revised from 1.496 million. The decline [...]

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 indicated that it will maintain this target range until the economy "is on track to achieve its maximum [...]

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 indicated that it will maintain this target range until the economy "is on track to achieve its maximum [...]

Trade flows are still depressed compared to what they previously were doing. Year-over-year exports and imports are contracting at about a 10% or so pace while previous to the recession export and import growth rates had been in a [...]

• Housing market activity continues to strengthen. • Improvement remains broad-based regionally. • Number of prospective buyers reaches new record. The Composite Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders- [...]

• Business inventories edged up 0.1% in July after six consecutive monthly declines. • Sales jump 3.2%, but still 1.9% below January peak. • Inventory-to-Sales ratio falls to six-year low. Total business inventories ticked up 0.1% in [...]

• Growth in consumer spending was below expectations last month. • Slower growth was widespread. The consumer pulled back on visits to retail outlets last month, despite limited openings of some stores after shutdowns due to COVID-19. [...]