Economy in Brief: 2017

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) eased 0.6% during the last four weeks, but remained up 12.7% during the last twelve months. This follows strength during [...]

German orders rose by 1% in March on the back of a strong gain in foreign orders. Foreign orders advanced by 4.8% on the month, their strongest gain since March of last year. Foreign orders broke a seesaw pattern of orders in March, [...]

The Labor Market Conditions Index (LMCI) from the Federal Reserve Board includes 19 indicators of labor market activity, covering the broad categories of unemployment and underemployment. These include jobs, workweeks, wages, [...]

Consumer credit outstanding grew $16.42 billion during March following a $13.75 billion February gain, revised from $15.2 billion. January's rise also was lessened to $9.73 billion. A $15.0 billion increase had been expected in the [...]

Today I feature Spain's industrial output. It is the Cinco de Mayo which is a Mexican, not a Spanish, holiday (lo siento mucho!-loosely translated that's 'sorry about that'). The holiday commemorates a Mexican victory over the French [...]

The job market firmed with the beginning of spring. Nonfarm payrolls rose 211,000 (1.4% y/y) during April. The rise followed a 79,000 March gain and a 232,000 February rise. These figures together were revised down by 6,000. [...]

The job market firmed with the beginning of spring. Nonfarm payrolls rose 211,000 (1.4% y/y) during April. The rise followed a 79,000 March gain and a 232,000 February rise. These figures together were revised down by 6,000. [...]

Manufacturing sector orders improved 0.2% during March following a 1.2% February gain, revised from 1.0%. Durable goods orders increased 0.9% (4.8% y/y), revised from the advance report of a 0.7% gain. Transportation sector orders [...]