Economy in Brief

The only sure things in life are death, taxes and the fact that the coronavirus will haunt you if not stalk you down. The February IP accounting from the EMU is the last report from the EMU on IP before the abject weakness from the [...]

• Initial jobless claims decline to 5.245 million in the week ending April 11. • Over the last four weeks 22.4 million people have filed new claims. • Thirty-nine states had decreases, but all remain at historic amounts Initial [...]

• Business activity weakens broadly. • Improved expectations reading likely helped by stimulus plan. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index declined sharply to -56.6 [...]

• Initial jobless claims decline to 5.245 million in the week ending April 11. • Over the last four weeks 22.4 million people have filed new claims. • Thirty-nine states had decreases, but all remain at historic amounts Initial [...]

• The housing sector is hard hit by the spread of the coronavirus. • Falling permits suggest more weakness to come. New residential home building weakened dramatically last month and likely will fall further. Housing starts declined [...]

• Record decline of 6.7% in leaders reflects widespread effects from coronavirus. • Coincident indicators signal nascent recession. • Lagging indicators confirm large downshift in economy. The Conference Board reported that its [...]

• The housing sector is hard hit by the spread of the coronavirus. • Falling permits suggest more weakness to come. New residential home building weakened dramatically last month and likely will fall further. Housing starts declined [...]

Housing starts declined 22.3% (+1.4% y/y) during March to 1.216 million units (SAAR). They fell 3.4% in February to 1.564 million, revised from 1.599 million. Total starts are 24.9% below their January peak. The latest level was the [...]