Economy in Brief: January 2013

The U.S. foreign trade deficit during November deepened to $48.9B from little-revised $42.2B in October. A $41.3B deficit had been expected. The deterioration occurred as imports surged 3.8% (2.5% y/y) against a 1.0% rise (3.3% y/y) [...]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, improvement in the job openings rate has been accompanied by an only moderate increase in hires. In the November job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), the job openings rate held at [...]

In the chart there is a perception of Sweden possibly being led toward recovery by foreign orders which are not as weak as for domestic orders or as weak as industrial production. But on the shorter intra-year view, the sequential [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 371,000 (-4.9% y/y) during the week ended January 5 from 367,000 during the week prior, revised from 372,000. Consensus expectations were for 365,000 claims. The four week moving [...]

Mortgage lenders were busy last year. The Mortgage Bankers Association index of total mortgage applications rose 42.2% in 2012 after declining during the prior two years. For last week, applications rose 11.7% (9.5% y/y) yet remained [...]

Individuals currently are inclined to borrow aggressively. Consumer credit outstanding jumped another $16.1B during November following a little-revised $14.0B October increase, according to the Federal Reserve. The latest rise left [...]

The latest report from the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs showed consumers' inclination to spend over the holidays evaporated with the new year. Chain store sales plunged 4.2% last week (+4.0% y/y) [...]

The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline held steady last week at $3.30 per gallon. That followed two weeks of slight increase from the low of $3.25. Since their September peak, prices remain down 58 cents per gallon. The norm [...]