Economy in Brief: February 2015

Average gasoline prices improved another 12 cents last week to $2.19 per gallon (-33.8% y/y) following the prior week's 3 cent lift from the low. Prices peaked at $3.70 per gallon this past June. Haver Analytics constructs factors [...]

The Labor Market Conditions Index (LMCI) is a tool created by the Federal Reserve Board to assess changes in labor market conditions. It draws on 19 indicators, from broad measures like the unemployment rate to narrower indicators [...]

In the early 1970s when a lot of academic work was being done in economics on exchange rate systems in the wake of the scrappage of Bretton Woods, one of the things that were envisaged was that, in a system of flexible exchange rates, [...]

Employment: (M/M Chg., 000s) Jan Dec Nov Y/Y 2014 2013 2012 Payroll Employment 257 329 423 2.3% 1.9% 1.7% 1.7% Previous -- 252 353 -- -- -- -- Manufacturing 22 26 45 1.9 1.4 0.8 1.7 Construction 39 44 30 5.1 4.8 3.7 2.1 Private [...]

The improvement in consumer confidence last year was accompanied by increased borrowing. For all of 2014, consumer credit outstanding rose 6.9%, the largest rise since 2001. For December alone, consumer credit outstanding gained $14.8 [...]

Improvement in the job market is strengthening. Payroll employment increased 257,000 (2.3% y/y) during January following upwardly revised gains of 329,000 and 423,000 during the prior two months. The average change in payrolls during [...]

German industrial production keeps dialing up positive growth rates even if they are small gains. The sequential growth rates from one-year and in show overall output accelerating, moving up from -0.4% of 12 months to an annualized [...]

Improvement in the job market is strengthening. Payroll employment increased 257,000 (2.3% y/y) during January following upwardly revised gains of 329,000 and 423,000 during the prior two months. The average change in payrolls during [...]