Economy in Brief

Taking a full count of the countries and regions in the top panel of the table, ten of 17 have PMIs below 50 in September. There are two countries Turkey and Taiwan with readings right at 50 (note: Taiwan is below 50 but rounds up to [...]

Weakness continues in the factory sector. The ISM manufacturing index fell to 47.8 during September from 49.1 in August. It was the lowest level since June 2009 which was the end of the last recession. The Action Economics Forecast [...]

In the week ended September 30, the U.S. pump price for gasoline of $2.64 per gallon (-7.8% y/y) compared to $2.65 during the prior week. These were the highest prices since early-August. Haver Analytics adjusts these price figures [...]

The unemployment rate in the EMU has fallen in August and the ongoing drop speaks to the ongoing economic expansion- not withstanding concerns to the contrary. However, the chart reminds us that any rise in the unemployment rate is an [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index fell to 1.5 during September from 2.7 in July. It remained down sharply from the February 2018 high of 38.2 [...]

The Chicago Business Barometer weakened to 47.1 during September from 50.4 during August. It was the third reading in the last four months below the break-even point of 50. Expectations had been for 50.1 in the Action Economics [...]

Manufacturers' orders for durable goods rose 0.2% in August (-3.0% year-on-year) following a 2.0% increase of in July. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a 1.0% decline. Orders in the transportation sector decreased 0.4% [...]

The EU Commission index for the European Monetary Union countries has fallen to 101.7 in September from 103.1 in August. At this mark, the index has a 49.5 percentile standing on data back to late-1988. The 49.5 mark is barely below [...]