Economy in Brief: 2019

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that its House Price Index for home purchases inched 0.1% higher during May after an unrevised 0.4% April rise. It was the weakest m/m gain since January 2017 and lowered the y/y rate [...]

A plunge in orders vs. a slight uptick in expected output ahead Note that sustained divergences between these two series simply do not exist. Boris 'Hard-Brexit' Johnson, the new leader of the Conservative Party, will be the new Prime [...]

The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. backpedaled to $2.75 (-2.9% y/y) last week, reversing most of the prior week's rise to $2.78 per gallon. The price was near the middle of the range beginning in late-March. [...]

With the release of wholesale sales, we can look at and compare Canadian sector growth rates. Manufacturing sales were up strongly in May, but overall retailing, retail ex-autos and wholesale sales all declined. Wholesale sales fell [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported that its National Activity index was little changed at -0.02 during June. That came after rising to -0.03 in May from April's -0.73. The three-month moving average also was steady last [...]

The EMU current account and trade accounts widened as merchandise exports rose and imports contracted. Services account income flows rose to create a larger net inflow while current transfers and outflow item diminished. Both accounts [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) was fairly steady during the last four weeks, rising 0.3% as activity in the industrial sector improved. The price index [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 13,000 to 209,000 (-1.4% year-on-year) during the week ending July 6...... Continuing claims for unemployment insurance increased 27,000 to 1.723 million (-1.3% y/y) in the week [...]