Economy in Brief

Consumer and business confidence peaked in the mature portion of this cycle about 1.5 years ago. As the graphic shows, consumer and business confidence are not always embedded in the same cycle. But the big swings in each series [...]

New building activity has failed to garner strength this year. Total housing starts during March eased 0.3% (-14.2% y/y) to 1.139 million (SAAR) from 1.142 million during February, revised from 1.162 million. It was the lowest level [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.3% (4.9% year-on-year) during February, after a slightly upwardly-revised 0.9% gain in January. Total business sales edged up 0.1% (2.4% y/y) following a 0.3% rise. The inventory-to-sales (I/S) [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported in its Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey that the General Business Conditions Index rebounded this month to 13.7 after declining in February to -4.1. The figures from the [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.8% (5.3% year-on-year) during January.... Total business sales rose 0.3% (2.8% y/y), following a 0.9% decrease in December. The inventory-to-sales (I/S) ratio ticked up to 1.39, the fourth [...]

The EMU PMI composite index stalled April, at a still growth-indicating 51.3, the same level as in March. In April, the manufacturing sector rebounded slightly, trimming its speed of decline with a 47.8 reading compared to March’s [...]

The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.4% (3.1% y/y) during March following a 0.1% uptick in February, revised from 0.2%. A 0.4% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.3% (4.9% year-on-year) during February, after a slightly upwardly-revised 0.9% gain in January. Total business sales edged up 0.1% (2.4% y/y) following a 0.3% rise. The inventory-to-sales (I/S) [...]