Economy in Brief: 2012

Demand for bank loans to business firmed noticeably at the very end of 2012, according to the Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Survey, which was released Monday, February 4. The survey covered 68 domestic banks and 22 U.S. branches [...]

Halifax house price data in the U. K. were released today. Halifax provides data on house prices in index form (1993=00) and in value in pounds both a national and regional base. The national data include prices for new buyers and for [...]

Industrial commodity prices recently have risen with evidence that manufacturing sector activity is strengthening. At 167.6, the latest price index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) was 5.7% [...]

EMU retail sales fell by 0.4% in volume terms in December marking their second straight drop. While there has been some welling up in confidence over Europe, Europe remains in a very difficult spot. Its troubled economies are really [...]

Service sector activity rose again last month. The Composite Index for the service and construction sectors from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) jumped to 56.8 in January versus 53.0 during December. Figures for 2011 were [...]

Job market improvement picked up steam last month. From the household employment survey, the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%, continuing a decline which started after its late-2009 peak of 10.0%. Nonfarm payrolls grew 243,000 during [...]

Construction put-in-place gained 0.9% in December after a minuscule 0.1% rise in November, when activity was restrained following Hurricane Sandy. The November amount was revised upward from a 0.3% fall reported before, and October [...]

Construction put-in-place gained 0.9% in December after a minuscule 0.1% rise in November, when activity was restrained following Hurricane Sandy. The November amount was revised upward from a 0.3% fall reported before, and October [...]