Economy in Brief

The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services was $43.6 billion in June after May's $46.4 billion; that earlier figure was revised from $46.5 billion and compares to $43.8 billion in June 2016. The Action Economics Forecast Survey [...]

In June, German domestic orders rode to the rescue. Domestic orders jumped by 5.1% month-to-month in June after sinking by 1.9% in May and after creeping ahead by only 0.1% in April. The gain has boosted domestic orders to an [...]

Nonfarm payrolls rose 209,000 (1.5% y/y) during July. A 181,000 increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The rise followed gains of 231,000 in June and 145,000 in May. Together these figures were revised up [...]

Manufacturing sector orders jumped 3.0% in June (9.1% y/y) following a 0.3% May dip, revised from -0.8%. Durable goods orders strengthened 6.4% (14.8% y/y), revised from 6.5% in the advance report. Transportation sector orders [...]

Euro area retail sales volume rose for the second month running in June, gaining 0.5% month-to-month in the wake of a 0.4% month-to-month rise in May. Total euro area retail sales volume is up at a 3.5% pace over three months, just a [...]

The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) fell to 53.9 during July from 57.4 in June. It was the lowest level for the index since August of last year. The Action Economics [...]

Initial filings for unemployment insurance fell to 240,000 (-9.7% y/y) during the week ended July 29 from 245,000 in the prior week, revised from 244,000. The figure matched expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Volume Index declined 2.8% (-22.8% y/y) in the week ended July 28 following a 0.4% rise in the prior week. Applications to refinance declined 3.8% (-41.2% [...]