Economy in Brief: January 2011

The holiday season ended quietly. Retail and food service sales rose 0.6% last month following gains of 0.8% and 1.6% during the prior two months, revised slightly from 0.8% and 1.7%. The rise was slightly short of expectations for a [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance jumped last week to 445,000 from 410,000 (initially reported as 409,000). The latest was higher than expectations for 402,000 according to Bloomberg. It also was the highest figure since the [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit held roughly stable during November at $38.3B versus $38.4B in October, revised from $38.7B. Consensus forecasts had been for $41.0B. Exports gained 0.8% (14.9% y/y) following their 3.0% October jump [...]

Japan's machinery orders fell by 8.3% in November as core order slipped by 3% falling for the third month in a row. Domestic orders continued to be very erratic and are weaker at only half the growth for foreign orders over the past [...]

The U.S. Producer Price Index for finished goods jumped another 1.1% last month after its 0.8% November surge. The rise outpaced Consensus expectations for a 0.8% increase and it pulled the overall gain in prices last year to 4.3%, [...]

The U.S. Government's budget deficit during the first quarter of FY 2011, beginning last October, totaled $370.8B, according to figures released today by the U.S. Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget. That was slightly [...]

Tale of two... Euro-Area IP is a tale of two trends. One trends applies to capital goods output which seems strong and firmly ensconced in a still accelerating uptrend. There is euro-optimism for you. The other trend is lower and is [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that overall mortgage applications increased 2.2% last week after a like gain during the week prior. Nevertheless, applications remained near the lowest since 2008. Applications to refinance a [...]