Economy in Brief

EMU PMIs soar then sink The EMU PMI sank to its cyclical low in mid-2016 then hit its cycle higher in 2018 as it ran up 5.9 points to its cycle high. In September 2018, the index has fallen back shedding 4.4 points from its peak and [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) eased 0.3% during the last four weeks and extended the decline in prices since the peak in the middle of June. The [...]

Borrowing in U.S. financial markets slowed in Q2 2018, according to the Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts data, totaling $2,596 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, compared to $4,512 billion in Q1. The federal government [...]

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes during August were unchanged at 5.340 million (SAAR, -1.5%). July's figure was unrevised. Sales remained at the lowest level since February 2016, down 6.6% [...]

Initial unemployment insurance applications decreased to 201,000 (-21.2% y/y) during the week ended September 15 from 204,000 in the prior week, which was unrevised. This was the smallest number of initial claims since November 15, [...]

The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.4% (6.4% y/y) during August after a 0.7% July gain, revised from 0.6%. A 0.5% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The index [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index rose to 22.9 during September following an August decline to 11.9. The rise compared to expectations for a lesser increase to 15.0 in [...]

The U.S. current account deficit fell to $101.5 billion during Q2 2018 from $121.7 billion in Q1. It was the smallest deficit since Q4 2015 and compared to $103.5 billion expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. As a percent [...]