Economy in Brief: 2021

• Job loss follows seven months of increase. • Declines ranged throughout most economic sectors. As the number of COVID-19 cases increase, the labor market suffered. The ADP National Employment Report indicated that nonfarm private [...]

• Decline led by drop in applications for refinancing. • Mortgage interest rates mostly fell further to new record lows. The Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Loan Applications Index fell 4.2% in the last two weeks of 2020. The [...]

• Sales of light trucks recover following two months of decline. • Passenger car sales continue to slip. • Imports' share of vehicle market backpedals. Light vehicle buyers returned to the market last month following two months of [...]

The graphic of the largest global economic regions shows that a powerful expansion is still in place in December. This is despite a spreading Covid-19 and a situation where lockdowns have intensified. But the impact of these lockdowns [...]

• Factory activity rebounds and exceeds its recent high. • Component improvement is broad-based. • Price index surges. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its Composite Index of Manufacturing Sector Activity jumped [...]

• Gasoline prices improve slightly. • Crude oil prices edge higher. • Natural gas prices decline again. The price of regular gasoline rose to $2.25 per gallon (-12.8% y/y) in the week ended January 4 from $2.24 per gallon in the [...]

• Monthly improvement is fifth since May. • Residential strength offsets continuing decline in nonresidential. • Public sector building eases. The value of construction put-in-place increased 0.9% (3.8% y/y) during November following [...]

Early reporting Asia economies show that manufacturing PMIs are recovering. In December, the seven early reporters show only Malaysia with a PMI gauge below 50 indicating manufacturing sector contraction. And Malaysia at 49.1 has a [...]