Economy in Brief: August 2011

The U.S. producer price index for finished goods increased 0.2% last month after a 0.4% June decline. The figure compared to Consensus expectations for no change. The change in energy and food prices offset one another. However, [...]

Evidence that the financial turmoil in the United States and Europe is beginning to depress activity, not only in the developed world, but in the emerging economies as well, appears in reports of second quarter GDP. Increasingly these [...]

U.S. industrial production rose 0.9% last month following a 0.4% June gain, revised from 0.2%. The latest increase beat Consensus expectations for a 0.4% increase according to Action Economics. Factory sector output gained 0.7% as [...]

Overall U.S. import prices nudged up 0.3% last month following a little-revised 0.6% June decline. Consensus expectations had been for a 0.1% slip. Year-to-year, the lower value of the U.S. dollar as well higher oil prices have raised [...]

Slack demand and earlier overbuilding continue to pressure new home construction. Housing starts fell 1.5% last month to 604,000 (AR) after a downwardly revised 10.8% June gain, initially reported as 14.6%. Expectations had been for [...]

Although Japanese Gross Domestic Product declined at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, the decline was less than expected. Government expenditures on consumption and investment were positive factors and [...]

The National Association of Home Builders reported that its August index of housing market activity held m/m at 15. Though the latest figure remained above the all-time low of 8 reached in January of 2009, it was at the low end of the [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that its Empire State Factory Index of General Business Conditions fell to -7.72 in August and reversed last month's improvement. The number was weaker than Consensus expectations for [...]