Economy in Brief: March 2020

The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank indicated tha

Germany's PPI had flared at the very start of the year but now just as suddenly as it rose it is backing off. The PPI that rose by 0.6% in January is now falling by 0.4% for an average increase of 0.1% over each of the last two [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that sales of existing homes during February jumped 6.5% (7.2% y/y) to 5.770 million (AR) from 5.420 million in January, revised from 5.460 million. It was the highest level of sales [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that sales of existing homes during February jumped 6.5% (7.2% y/y) to 5.770 million (AR) from 5.420 million in January, revised from 5.460 million. It was the highest level of sales [...]

The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose 0.1% during February following a 0.7% January increase, revised from 0.8%. The latest reading compared to zero change expected in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

Initial jobless claims for unemployment insurance surged by 70,000 to 281,000 (+28.3% y/y) in the March 14 week. The previous week was unrevised at 211,000, although all these data were affected back to 2015 by the annual seasonal [...]

• Initial jobless claims decreased to 211,000 in the week ending March 7th. • Four-week moving average edged up to 214,000. Initial jobless claims for unemployment insurance declined 4,000 to 211,000 (-5.8% year-on-year) during the [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index deteriorated to -12.7 during March from 36.7 in February. It was the first negative reading since February 2013. An index of [...]