Economy in Brief: 2010

The UK, an economy that has been as much of an enigma as any, surprised us with a drop in the claimant count for February. Jobless claims fell in number by 32K in February and their numbers are lower on balance over three-months and [...]

Producer price inflation eased last month. The finished goods PPI fell 0.6% after its strong 1.4% increase during January. Nevertheless, the 4.6% y/y gain remained nearly the strongest since the autumn of 2008. The February decline [...]

Producer price inflation eased last month. The finished goods PPI fell 0.6% after its strong 1.4% increase during January. Nevertheless, the 4.6% y/y gain remained nearly the strongest since the autumn of 2008. The February decline [...]

The ZEW March survey of German institutional investors and analysts shows that they are a little more cautious regarding macroeconomic expectations. The excess of optimists over pessimist declined by 0.6 percentage points from 45.1% [...]

Petroleum prices are on the rise with the improved economy. The pump price for regular gasoline rose another four cents last week to $2.79 per gallon which is up by three-quarters since December of 2008. Yesterday, the spot market [...]

Earlier gains in import prices took a breather in February. However, a further increase is likely this month with the rise in oil prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that last month import prices slipped 0.3% and roughly [...]

There's plainly no lift beneath the housing market. Housing starts last month fell 5.9% to 575,000 units (AR) and reversed January's upwardly-revised gain. Heavy snowstorms likely were a factor contributing to the decline which fell [...]

There's plainly no lift beneath the housing market. Housing starts last month fell 5.9% to 575,000 units (AR) and reversed January's upwardly-revised gain. Heavy snowstorms likely were a factor contributing to the decline which fell [...]