Economy in Brief: 2019

Total business inventories increased 0.3% (4.9% year-on-year) during February, after a slightly upwardly-revised 0.9% gain in January. Total business sales edged up 0.1% (2.4% y/y) following a 0.3% rise. The inventory-to-sales (I/S) [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported in its Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey that the General Business Conditions Index rebounded this month to 13.7 after declining in February to -4.1. The figures from the [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.8% (5.3% year-on-year) during January.... Total business sales rose 0.3% (2.8% y/y), following a 0.9% decrease in December. The inventory-to-sales (I/S) ratio ticked up to 1.39, the fourth [...]

The EMU PMI composite index stalled April, at a still growth-indicating 51.3, the same level as in March. In April, the manufacturing sector rebounded slightly, trimming its speed of decline with a 47.8 reading compared to March’s [...]

The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.4% (3.1% y/y) during March following a 0.1% uptick in February, revised from 0.2%. A 0.4% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast [...]

Total business inventories increased 0.3% (4.9% year-on-year) during February, after a slightly upwardly-revised 0.9% gain in January. Total business sales edged up 0.1% (2.4% y/y) following a 0.3% rise. The inventory-to-sales (I/S) [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased to 192,000 (-15.4% year-on-year) during the week ended April 13 from 197,000 the week before, which was revised up by 1,000. This is the lowest level of claims since October 4, 1969, [...]

Total retail sales increased 1.6% during March following a 0.2% February dip. It was the largest monthly increase since September 2017. The 3.6% y/y sales pace, however, remained down from growth during 2018 and 2017. A 0.9% March [...]