Economy in Brief: February 2007

In January, US retail sales slipped marginally after a December gain that was revised up to 1.2% from 0.9% reported initially. The figure for last month fell short of Consensus expectations for a modest 0.3% rise. Excluding autos, [...]

In January, US retail sales slipped marginally after a December gain that was revised up to 1.2% from 0.9% reported initially. The figure for last month fell short of Consensus expectations for a modest 0.3% rise. Excluding autos, [...]

2006 was a good year for the euro area. Eurostat estimates that the Euro Area's Gross Domestic Product in real terms grew 0.9% in the fourth quarter of the year over the third quarter and was 3.3 above the fourth quarter of 2005. [...]

Unleaded gasoline prices at the pump rose for the second straight week and the nickel increase to an average $2.24 per gallon was to the highest level in a month. Colder temperatures have lent strength both to crude oil prices which [...]

Small business optimism in January rose for the first month in three. The 2.5% increase recouped only a piece of the 3.2% December decline, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). During the last ten years [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit deepened unexpectedly in December to $61.2B from a little revised $58.1B during November. The figure compared to Consensus expectations for a deficit of $59.6B. For the year, the trade deficit deepened [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit deepened unexpectedly in December to $61.2B from a little revised $58.1B during November. The figure compared to Consensus expectations for a deficit of $59.6B. For the year, the trade deficit deepened [...]

China is one of the first countries to announce its monthly trade data. Selected trade data on a seasonally unadjusted basis for January were released today. In each year since 2001 the unadjusted data on the trade balance have shown [...]