Economy in Brief: November 2011

Inflation is a many-headed beast and that is on reason it is hard to fight. Economists are taught that inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. But in the real world there are so many distractions and then are long [...]

Housing activity firmed further in November according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo report on housing market activity. The Composite Housing Market Index jumped three points to 20, its highest level since [...]

Industrial production rose 0.7% during October following a 0.1% September dip, originally reported as +0.2%. The latest increase exceeded Consensus expectations for a 0.4% rise, according to Action Economics. Factory sector output [...]

The ability to raise prices in this modest economic growth environment is virtually nonexistent. The October Consumer Price Index slipped 0.1% following three months of elevated increase. The decline compared with expectations for no [...]

Amid the turmoil over the debt crisis in the euro area, the German Economy managed to show a 0.50% increase in real GDP in the third quarter compared with a 0.27% increase in the second quarter. The news, however, is not all good. [...]

The pump price for regular gasoline rose two cents last week to $3.44 per gallon. Prices remained down versus May when they averaged $3.91. Retail prices usually start to ease this time of year with reduced seasonal demand. To account [...]

The October producer price index for finished goods fell 0.3% following an unrevised 0.8% September jump. The figure compared to Consensus expectations for a 0.1% slip, according to the Action Economics survey. The increase left the [...]

Consumer spending continued on a moderate growth track last month. October retail & food service sales increased 0.5% following an unrevised 1.1% September gain. The October increase roughly matched Consensus expectations for a 0.4% [...]