Economy in Brief

• Wholesale inventory decline is broad-based. • Sales spike is notable in durables sector • Inventory to sales ratio remains elevated. Wholesale inventories fell 1.2% (-4.2% y/y) as durable goods inventories slid 2.0% (-5.1% y/y). The [...]

• State initial jobless claims fell to 1.314 million last week. • New applications for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance rose to 1.039 million. • Continuing claims for jobless insurance and the insured jobless rate eased. [...]

• Reduced credit card usage leads the falloff. Consumer's are pulling back as unemployment rises. Consumer credit outstanding fell $18.3 billion (+0.8% y/y) during May following a $70.2 billion April decline, revised from $-68.8 [...]

Japan's economy watchers current index jumped to 38.8 in June from 15.5 in May. The index had largely been in a range from 37 to 47 from August 2019 to January 2002. It then slipped to 27.4 in February and again to 14.2 in March and [...]

• 15-year fixed rate mortgage eased to record low. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index increased 2.2% (71.1% y/y) during the week ending July 3 after falling for two straight weeks. [...]

With lockdown measures having been partially lifted in recent weeks, prospects for the UK economy seem to have improved. On the data front there has been some validation for that view as the composite PMI jumped sharply to 47.5 in [...]

Germany logged its first rise in IP in three months. Even so, the gain was less than expected and the ongoing drop in German IP overall as well as by sector (see graph) remains severe. The EU is preparing some sort of a stimulus [...]

• Job openings increase. • Hiring strengthens. • Layoffs fall dramatically and quits rise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate rose to 3.9% during May and recovered April's decline due to [...]