Economy in Brief: September 2005

The leading index of the US economy published weekly by the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) fell during four of the last five weeks. The latest 0.4% w/w decline reflected, in part, the sharp rise in initial claims for [...]

The leading index of the US economy published weekly by the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) fell during four of the last five weeks. The latest 0.4% w/w decline reflected, in part, the sharp rise in initial claims for [...]

The Euro-Zone CPI inflation picked up marginally in August, reaching 2.24% after July's 2.16% year-on-year pace. Notably, however, these are both lower than the 2004 rate of 2.36%. Eurostat reported these data this morning at 5:00AM [...]

The US current account deficit improved last quarter but it was from a 1Q record that was revised deeper. The 2Q deficit of $195.7B amounted to 6.3% of GDP. Consensus expectations had been for greater improvement to $193.0B. The [...]

The September Consumer Sentiment Index from the University of Michigan cratered 13.7% m/m to 76.9, the lowest level in over ten years, as consumer expectations were depressed 17.3% by Hurricane Katrina (and probably by higher gasoline [...]

Total business inventories fell in July for the second month. The decline lowered the three month change in inventories to -1.5% (AR) versus a 12.1% peak rate of accumulation through last August. The ratio of inventories-to-sales [...]

The Philadelphia Fed's Index of General Business Conditions in the manufacturing sector fell sharply in September to 2.2 from 17.5, reflecting damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Consensus expectations had been for a lesser decline to [...]

The September Consumer Sentiment Index from the University of Michigan cratered 13.7% m/m to 76.9, the lowest level in over ten years, as consumer expectations were depressed 17.3% by Hurricane Katrina (and probably by higher gasoline [...]