Economy in Brief: July 2011

EMU retail sales momentum is on the downswing. As we have seen in selected country level reports the European growth situation is losing some steam. Whereas in the US the MFG sector made some rebound for a very sharp drop in May the [...]

Commodity prices recently have given mixed signals about inflationary pressures and the economy. Gold prices have backed off their recent high and as of yesterday traded at $1,483 per ounce versus the mid-June level of $1,553. Showing [...]

Manufacturing orders recovered 0.8% during May after a 0.9% April drop. Consensus expectations were for a 0.9% rise. For durable goods only, orders rose 2.1% which was revised up slightly from 1.9% reported initially. Nondurable goods [...]

The value of construction spending fell 0.6% during May and duplicated its downwardly revised 0.6% April drop. Though the rate of decline has slowed, activity's downtrend is in its fifth year. Figures back through 2009 were moderately [...]

The pace of activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector didn't deteriorate last month, but it didn't improve much either. That's the message from this morning's report on the Composite Index of activity in the factory sector. The [...]

The MFG PMIs tell a story of slowing growth in the Zone. Every nation’s PMIs are now is a declining mode. While Greece saw some improvement in its index this month (and how it did that we will never know) it has the lowest percentile [...]