Economy in Brief

Initial unemployment insurance claims fell to 221,000 (-12.6% y/y) during the week ended May 26 following an increase to 234,000 during the prior week, which was not revised. Expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey were [...]

Retail gasoline prices rose to $2.96 per gallon last week (23.1% y/y) from $2.92 per gallon during the prior week. It was the highest price level since November 2014. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal [...]

U.S. economic growth slowed a bit more than initially estimated in Q1'18. Real gross domestic product grew at a 2.2% annual rate, revised from 2.3% estimated initially. The rise followed 2.9% growth during Q4'17. A 2.3% increase had [...]

Suddenly, the euro area is in turmoil. At the turn of the year, just about every investment manager was touting Europe as the place to be: give your portfolio a European vacation! There would be recovery. It already was looking [...]

The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 178,000 during May following a downwardly revised 163,000 gain in April (was 204,000). A 188,000 rise had been expected in the Action [...]

Money and credit growth in the EMU area remain weak. There is a slight firming to trends in April but I emphasize the word 'slight.' There is no trend change and nothing to stoke new hopes or confidences. With the Italian crisis [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas indicated in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index improved to 26.8 during May after declining sharply in April to a five-month low, down from the February [...]

Consumers are taking heart from improving labor market conditions. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose to 128.0 in May (8.8% y/y) from 125.6 during April, initially reported as 128.7. The May level matched expectations [...]