Economy in Brief: February 2014

The output of U.S. factories fell 0.8% (+1.3% y/y) during January following 0.3% gains during the prior two months, both revised down from 0.5%. The latest decline was the largest since May 2009. Overall industrial production fell a [...]

Acceleration, but very gradual acceleration, is the clear picture from the table and the chart on GDP growth. EMU GDP growth is 0.5% year over year in Q4 2013, up from -0.3% in Q3, -0.6% in Q2 and -1.2% in Q1. That is steady but also [...]

Import prices ticked up a minimal 0.1% during January following a 0.2% December rise, revised from no change. A 0.1% slip had been expected in the Action Economics survey. A 1.2% decline (-4.0% y/y) in petroleum prices last month [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.5% in December (4.0% y/y) after a 0.4% November gain. Though the rate of inventory accumulation slowed late in the quarter, the entire quarter's gain of 1.7% was the swiftest since Q3 2013. This [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance notched up to 339,000 (-2.6% y/y) during the week ended February 8 versus an unrevised 331,000 during the week prior. Expectations had been for 330,000 claims in the Action Economic forecast [...]

Retail spending declined 0.4% (+2.6% y/y) during January following a 0.1% December slip, revised down from +0.2%. The latest decline fell short of a 0.1% rise expected in the Action Economics survey. A 2.1% y/y decline (+4.1 y/y) in [...]

The German harmonized consumer prices edged up by just 0.1% in January after falling by 0.2% in December. Inflation in Germany continues to be subdued. However, over three months the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is up at [...]

The Federal Government ran a $10.4 billion budget deficit during January of FY 2014. The latest figure compares to the Action Economics Forecast Survey expectation of a $30.0 billion deficit. In the first four months of this fiscal [...]