Economy in Brief

Gross domestic product, adjusted for price inflation, increased 3.1% during Q1'19, revised from 3.2%. Despite the revision, the 3.2% rate of growth during the last four quarters remained the strongest increase since Q2'15. The rise [...]

The labor market remains on a firm footing. Initial claims for unemployment insurance eased 1,000 to 211,000 (-7.6% y/y) during the week ended May 18...... Continuing claims for unemployment insurance rose 12,000 to 1.676 million [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending home sales fell 1.5% in April (-2.0% year-on-year), reversing some of March’s 3.9% gain. Meanwhile, mortgage rates continue on their downtrend. The effective rate on a [...]

Gross domestic product, adjusted for price inflation, increased 3.1% during Q1'19, revised from 3.2%. Despite the revision, the 3.2% rate of growth during the last four quarters remained the strongest increase since Q2'15. The rise [...]

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending home sales fell 1.5% in April (-2.0% year-on-year), reversing some of March's 3.9% gain. Meanwhile, mortgage rates continue on their downtrend. The effective rate on a [...]

The labor market remains historically quite robust. Initial claims for unemployment insurance edged up 3,000 to 215,000 in week ended May 25, but remain around the lowest level in nearly six decades. The latest reading was in line [...]

Japan's trade deficit stays in place for the second month in a row although the deficit shrinks to 111 billion yen in April from 154 billion yen in March. Japan's average deficit measured over 12 months, six months and three months [...]

Since 2013, Italian inflation has consistently been lower than German inflation The table and chart chronicle some interesting circumstances for Italy. The chart shows that (as they say) ‘believe it or not!' Italian inflation has [...]