Economy in Brief

• Production & new orders weakness offset by slower product delivery speeds. • Pricing power eases. Activity in the factory slowed last month. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its composite index of [...]

• Construction spending hammered 1.8% higher in January. • Unseasonably warm weather in January very likely played a role. • Meaningful upward revisions to previous months should raise construction activity in Q4 GDP. The value of [...]

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer declined to 42.9 during January.......... The MNI Chicago Report is produced by MNI in partnership with ISM-Chicago. The survey covers a sample of over 200 purchasing professionals [...]

Japan's growth is fading New reports on retail sales, industrial production and housing starts do not change the sense of weakness in Japan's economy. In January, retail sales rebounded to gain 1.2% month-to-month. However, housing [...]

Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.2% (4.5% y/y) during January following a 0.4% December gain, revised from 0.3%. A 0.3% January gain had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. In constant dollars, spending [...]

• Chicago PMI jumps to 49.0 in February, still below 50-growth mark. • ISM-Adjusted measure calculated by Haver Analytics rises above 50. • Employment index decreases to 44.5, near nine-year low. The Chicago Purchasing Managers [...]

The U.S. economy grew 2.1% (SAAR) during the fourth quarter of 2019, unrevised from the advance estimate. The gain roughly matched growth during the prior two quarters and equaled expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]

The U.S. economy grew 2.1% (SAAR) during the fourth quarter of 2019, unrevised from the advance estimate. The gain roughly matched growth during the prior two quarters and equaled expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]