Economy in Brief

The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that job cut announcements rose to 52,961 (45.5% y/y) during May, the highest level since February 2013. Layoffs increased m/m in the chemical, computer, commodities, [...]

German orders rebounded strongly in April, rising by 3.1% after dropping by 2.8% in March. Domestic orders were flat in April, after falling by 0.6% in March. Foreign orders have recovered, rising by 5.5% after falling by 4.5% in [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance nudged up to an expected 312,000 in the week ended May 31 from 304,000 in the prior week, revised from 300,000. Despite the rise, claims remained near the 2007 low. The four-week moving average of [...]

The Composite Index for the service and construction sectors from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) improved to 56.3 in May, its highest level in nine months. The latest figure beat expectations for 55.5 in the Action [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit during April surpassed expectations and rose sharply to $47.2 billion from $44.2 billion in March, last month reported as $40.4 billion. Exports declined 0.2% (+3.0% y/y following a revised 2.9% gain. [...]

The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report indicated a 179,000 rise (2.1% y/y) in May nonfarm private sector jobs. Last month's gain followed increases of 215,000 and 198,000 in April and March, revised down from 220,000 and 209,000. [...]

The total PMI for the European Monetary Union slipped to 53.5 in May from 54.0 in April. However, the 12-month, six-month and three-month moving averages continue to show steadily stronger readings on the shorter horizons. At the [...]

Auto buyers were out in force last month, lifting sales of light vehicles to the highest level since July 2006. According to the Autodata Corporation, unit sales of light vehicle sales during May increased 4.6% (8.3% y/y) to 16.77 [...]