Economy in Brief: 2013

The Federal Government ran a $135.2 billion budget deficit during November of FY 2014, down from the $172.1 billion deficit during November of last year. The latest figure compares to the Action Economics Forecast Survey expectation [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total mortgage market index edged 1.0% higher last week (-57.5% y/y) but remained at nearly the lowest level since late-2008. Applications to refinance existing loans gained 2.1% [...]

Sales at chain stores remain weak. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales fell 1.6% (+1.5% y/y) last week following a 2.8% drop during Thanksgiving week. The decline follows a [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the October job openings rate held m/m at 2.8%. That nevertheless was up from 2.6% twelve months earlier The job openings rate is the [...]

Industrial production in the euro zone may have hit a bit of a rocky start in October as five of the nine early-reporting EMU countries show drops in industrial production in October. Of these only Germany shows back-to-back drops in [...]

The price for a gallon of regular gasoline prices held at $3.27 (-2.4% y/y) last week. Still, prices were down 13.5% versus the $3.78 per gallon peak reached late in February. Much of the decline reflects less driving this time of [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business reported that its Small Business Optimism Index rose to 92.5 during November. That recouped, however, just a piece of its sharp October decline to an unrevised 91.6. The latest figure [...]

The National Federation of Independent Business reported that its Small Business Optimism Index rose to 92.5 during November. That recouped, however, just a piece of its sharp October decline to an unrevised 91.6. The latest figure [...]