Economy in Brief: 2012

Consumer spending is under pressure according to the latest report from the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs. Chain store sales fell 0.7% last week and added to the 3.1% drop during the prior period. The [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business indicated that its November Index of Small Business Optimism collapsed to 87.5 from 93.1 in October. The figure was its lowest since March 2010. A net negative 35% of firms expected the [...]

Labor market improvement continues according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The October job openings rate rose to 2.7% from an unrevised 2.6%. That equaled the highest rate for the [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit during October deepened to $42.2B from $40.3B in September, revised from $41.5B. A $42.6B deficit had been expected. The deterioration occurred as imports fell 2.1% (-0.8% y/y) versus the 3.6% decline [...]

The OECD's Leading Indicator for three broad groups of countries are showing mixed trends, as shown in the attached chart. Those for the Euro Area are definitely indicating slowing economies. Except for Germany, most of the other [...]

Consumers are using their borrowing ability to keep spending. Consumer credit outstanding jumped $14.2B during October following a revised $12.2B September increase, initially reported as $11.4B, according to Federal Reserve figures [...]

The OECD's Leading Indicator for three broad groups of countries are showing mixed trends, as shown in the attached chart. Those for the Euro Area are definitely indicating slowing economies. Except for Germany, most of the other [...]

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment dropped sharply in early December to 74.5 (Q1 1966 = 100) from 82.7 in November. This move negated market forecasts for a steady reading of 82.8, and returned the index about to [...]