Economy in Brief: November 2013

The price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell another 2 cents last week to $3.27 (-6.5% y/y), hitting the lowest level since the fourth week of December last year, down from the $3.78 per gallon peak reached late in February. Haver [...]

Orders in the manufacturing sector jumped 1.7% (3.0% y/y) during September following two months of decline. Expectations were for a 1.6% rise. Durable goods orders increased 3.8% (7.8% y/y), little changed from last week's advance [...]

The chart of the manufacturing indices for the four largest EMU members Germany, France, Italy, and Spain shows a clear topping out over the last months. France even seems to be faltering and losing ground. This evidence bristles [...]

Unit sales of light motor vehicles last month edged 0.3% lower (+5.8% y/y) versus September to 15.23 million (SAAR), according to the Autodata Corporation. The latest level of sales compares to the August peak of 16.09 million. Light [...]

Global growth has been and remained weak. The US has had consistent growth, but it has also fallen short of historic markers. Political developments make the future less certain. The US recently has attacked the `German model' of [...]

October was a constructive month for the manufacturing sector. The Composite Index of Manufacturing Sector Activity from the Institute for Supply Management ticked up to 56.4 from an unrevised 56.2 in September. The latest reading was [...]