Economy in Brief: August 2013

Retail sales nudged up just 0.2% last month (5.4% y/y) following a revised June gain of 0.6%, initially reported as 0.4%. A 0.3% rise had been expected according to Action Economics. Retail sales excluding motor vehicles were stronger [...]

Following softness earlier this year, the recent firming of industrial commodity prices indicate that a corner toward improvement has been turned. Friday's industrial commodity price index, from the Foundation for International [...]

Abe's economics (Abe-nomics) is not exactly stumbling, but neither is it hitting the home run that it seemed to be when the program first was launched. GDP in the second quarter is up at a stronger pace year-over-year at 0.9% compared [...]

Inventories at the wholesale level fell 0.2% (+2.9% y/y) during June following a revised 0.6% drop in May, initially reported as -0.5%. A 0.3% decline (+0.7 y/ in inventories of nondurable goods led June's shortfall. Farm product [...]

French industrial production fell by 1.4% in June, a surprising development that was largely unexpected. The optimism gene has spread in Europe; expectations are that Europe has turned the corner and that growth is going to continue [...]

An improved job market and lower interest rates are helping home buyers service mortgage debt. The share of home mortgages that are notably delinquent fell to 5.88% during Q2'13. That's down from 7.31% one year earlier and below the [...]

The OECD indices of Leading Economic Indicators show, for the most part, continuing growth in the OECD area and in its largest economies. Even so, there are irregularities. The OECD reports on its indices as follows: - The CLIs for [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose slightly to 333,000 (-9.5% y/y) during the week ended August 3 from 328,000 in the prior week, initially reported as 326,000. The latest figures remained the lowest since early-November [...]