Economy in Brief: July 2010

Consumers began the summer season on a cautious note. Retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.5% last month. To emphasize the notion of lost momentum, May's decline was revised to 1.1% from 1.2% but the gain in April sales was halved to [...]

Consumers began the summer season on a cautious note. Retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.5% last month. To emphasize the notion of lost momentum, May's decline was revised to 1.1% from 1.2% but the gain in April sales was halved to 0.3%.

align="left" /> Consumers began the summer season on a cautious note. Retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.5% last month. To emphasize the notion of lost momentum, May's decline was revised to 1.1% from 1.2% but the gain in April sales [...]

A stronger U.S. economy continued its effect of deepening the U.S. foreign trade deficit during May. The deficit of $42.3B followed an unrevised April figure of $40.3B. The latest figure was the deepest since December 2008 and [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that labor market conditions remained improved. The Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicated that the job openings rate during May slipped to 2.4% from 2.5% during April. [...]

Small business optimism fell last month after two months of improvement. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported their June small business optimism index declined m/m to 89.0 from the recent high of 92.2. The [...]

Consumer confidence in Japan edged higher in June to 43.6 from 43.0, as Japan's index of industrial output also made a surprise advance. Expected income growth and employment and the willingness to buy durable goods each improved on [...]

A stronger U.S. economy continued its effect of deepening the U.S. foreign trade deficit during May. The deficit of $42.3B followed an unrevised April figure of $40.3B. The latest figure was the deepest since December 2008 and [...]