Economy in Brief

The job market remains firm. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 210,000 during the week ended August 18 from an unrevised 212,000 the week earlier. It was the lowest reading in five weeks. The Action Economics Forecast [...]

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes during July moved 0.7% lower (-1.5% y/y) to 5.340 million (AR), following an unrevised 5.380 million during June. It was the fourth consecutive month of [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index increased 4.2% last week (-16.1% y/y) following five consecutive weeks of decline. The effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage was little- [...]

U.K. order books continue to hold ground, according to the industrial trends survey issued by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Their net position slipped in August to 7 from 11 in July and 13 in June. Their August level is [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its Nonmanufacturing Business Index of current conditions at the company level increased to 41.1 during August, the highest reading since June 2015. A slightly lessened 51 percent [...]

Retail gasoline prices fell to $2.82 per gallon last week from $2.84 during the prior week. Despite recent declines, prices remained up 19.5% y/y. Haver Analytics constructs factors to adjust for the marked seasonal variation in [...]

Inflation trends in Germany continue to move up toward or to the 2% mark. And 2% is a micro-step over the line to Germans and to the ECB. The German CPI has just got to that mark while the ex-energy CPI continues to pace at a good [...]

The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) fell 3.7% last month and extended the retreat in prices since the peak two months ago. The decline left the index [...]