Economy in Brief: 2014

Economic activity in the Midwest picked up this month. Chicago purchasing managers indicated that their April index of General Business Conditions rose to 63.0 after an unrevised fall to 55.9 in March. The figure was the highest since [...]

The employment cost index for private industry workers increased 0.3% (1.8% y/y) in Q1'14, following a 0.5% rise in Q4. This was the smallest quarterly increase in almost five years. This report includes annual seasonal adjustment [...]

ADP/Moody's National Employment Report reported a 220,000 rise (2.1% y/y) in nonfarm private sector jobs during April. Expectations were for a 200,000 gain in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Last month's rise followed increases [...]

Real GDP ticked 0.1% higher (2.3% y/y) last quarter following an unrevised 2.6% gain in Q4 2013. The Department of Commerce indicated in this advance estimate that growth was its weakest since Q4 2012. Growth was well short of [...]

Real GDP ticked 0.1% higher (2.3% y/y) last quarter following an unrevised 2.6% gain in Q4 2013. The Department of Commerce indicated in this advance estimate that growth was its weakest since Q4 2012. Growth was well short of [...]

Following a sharp rise in March, consumer confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, eased to an index reading of 82.3 this month (+19.3% y/y) from an upwardly revised 83.9. The latest figure remained nearly the highest since [...]

The EU sentiment indicator rose in April as the same indicator for EMU fell by 0.5%. All EU-wide sector indicators rose month-to-month except construction. The UK economy is on fire, with its sentiment index in the 94th percentile of [...]

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales improved 1.6% (3.1% y/y) last week, the firmest gain in a month. The rise pulled sales up 3.1% versus last year, the strongest increase [...]