Economy in Brief: March 2010

The U.S. current account deficit widened for a second quarter in Q4 to $115.6 billion from $102.3 in Q3. The result was a bit narrower, though than consensus expectations, which called for $118.5 billion. As a percentage of GDP, the [...]

The rate of labor market improvement seems to have slowed. Initial claims for jobless insurance fell another 5,000 last week but it was only to 457,000 from a little revised 462,000 during the prior week. These levels are little [...]

The Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose a modest 0.1% last month following an unrevised 0.3% January increase. While still indicating economic recovery, strength in forward momentum has been lost. The three- [...]

Consumer price inflation can't develop forward momentum despite moderate improvement in the economy. Or maybe the economy's improving in part because inflation is so low. Either way, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that [...]

Consumer price inflation can't develop forward momentum despite moderate improvement in the economy. Or maybe the economy's improving in part because inflation is so low. Either way, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications regained their footing during the last three weeks. Despite a 1.9% decline last week, applications in March are 4.8% higher than in February when they rose 10.8% [...]

The UK, an economy that has been as much of an enigma as any, surprised us with a drop in the claimant count for February. Jobless claims fell in number by 32K in February and their numbers are lower on balance over three-months and [...]

Producer price inflation eased last month. The finished goods PPI fell 0.6% after its strong 1.4% increase during January. Nevertheless, the 4.6% y/y gain remained nearly the strongest since the autumn of 2008. The February decline [...]