Economy in Brief: 2014

The four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to 327,000, the lowest level since late-November. On a weekly basis, initial claims increased to 320,000 during the week ended March 15 from an [...]

Last quarter's deficit on merchandise trade shrank to $171.8 billion, its least in three years.

Last quarter's deficit on merchandise trade shrank to $171.8 billion, its least in three years.

At today's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed reduced the amount of its asset purchases of agency mortgage-backed and longer-term Treasury securities to $55 billion per month from $65 billion per month. It sighted [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association indicated that their total mortgage market index fell 1.2% last week (-51.8% y/y). Applications remained 63.3% lower than the peak in September 2012. Applications to purchase a home slipped 0.9% [...]

Japan's sector indices continue to turn higher in January. After a setback in December, the January all-industry index for Japan is moving back up. The level in January 2014 is above the level of November 2013, making the January [...]

The U.S. current account deficit decreased in Q4'13 to $81.1 billion from $96.4 billion in Q3. It was the smallest quarterly deficit since Q3 1999. It represented 1.9% of GDP, the least since Q3 1997. The Action Economics Forecast [...]

Energy prices were mixed last week. The price for a gallon of regular gasoline increased to $3.55 (-40% y/y) last week, up 35 cents from the January low. Nevertheless, prices remained below the $3.78 per gallon peak reached in [...]