Economy in Brief: 2005

The Index of General Business Conditions in the manufacturing sector from the Philadelphia Fed went negative in June for the first month in just over two years. The 9.5 point m/m decline to -2.2 added to declines earlier this year [...]

Foreign trade for Italy has swung from a comfortable surplus two years ago to a persistent and increasing deficit. The April figures, reported today, show a shortfall of €784 million following on March's €872 million. This [...]

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Composite Housing Market Index rose to 71 in June, returning to the record high level reached last December. During the last twenty years, annual changes in the composite index had an [...]

Housing starts edged 0.2% higher to 2.009M units in May following a downwardly revised 9.4% gain in April.Consensus expectations had been for 2.041M starts. Single-family starts rose 4.7% m/m on top of the downwardly revised 5.0% [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance remained about flat last week, rising 1,000 to 333,000 from an upwardly revised level the week prior. Consensus expectations had been for 328,000 claims. During the last ten years there has [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance remained about flat last week, rising 1,000 to 333,000 from an upwardly revised level the week prior. Consensus expectations had been for 328,000 claims. During the last ten years there has [...]

Net purchases of securities by foreign investors in US markets totaled $47.4 billion in April, somewhat larger than March's $40.6 billion. These last two months, however, are well below recent trends, which generated an average of [...]

Total mortgage applications surged 17.4% last week following a 6.5% rise the week prior. Applications so far in June are 12.6% ahead of the May average which rose 6.5% versus April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. [...]