Economy in Brief: April 2005

Chain store sales rose 0.3% for the second week according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey. The increase last week pulled the average level in April about even with March. During the last ten years [...]

The March Small Business Optimism Index reported by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) fell 1.1% from February and is down 4.8% from the peak last November. The percentage of firms expecting the economy to improve [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit in February surged to another record of $61.0B and exceeded Consensus expectations for a $59.0B deficit. January's figure was little revised. Total exports were unchanged for the second consecutive [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit in February surged to another record of $61.0B and exceeded Consensus expectations for a $59.0B deficit. January's figure was little revised. Total exports were unchanged for the second consecutive [...]

The advance estimate for the year to year growth in Singapore's first quarter seasonally unadjusted Gross Domestic Product was 2.4%, down from 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2004 and was well below the average growth for all of 2004 at [...]

The Leading Index of the Big 7 OECD economies slipped 0.3% in February following three consecutive months of gain. The decline reversed the earlier improvement in the index's six month growth rate and it fell to 0.3%, the weakest in [...]

The Leading Index of the Big 7 OECD economies slipped 0.3% in February following three consecutive months of gain. The decline reversed the earlier improvement in the index's six month growth rate and it fell to 0.3%, the weakest in [...]

The Canadian labor market has shown some further gains early in 2005, as employment has continued rising and the unemployment rate has edged lower. Employment was up 4,400 in March, following 26,200 February. Both goods and service [...]