New York City business activity in September contracted for the eighth time in nine months, according to the survey taken by the National Association of Purchasing Management-New York (NAPM-NY). The Current Business Conditions index fell to 39.1 in September. In the past, persistent weakness in business conditions has been a precursor ...

CHICAGO BUSINESS BAROMETER™ SOLIDIFIED
The Chicago Purchasing Managers reported the CHICAGO BUSINESS BAROMETER confirmed the August surge with a solid 56.7 reading:
PRICES PAID index was above 80 for the eighth month this year;
EMPLOYMENT approached neutral;
PRODUCTION index jumped another 8 points;
BUYING POLICY: lead-times for Capital ...

Data through July 2008, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, shows continued record declines and a continuation in the trend of double digit declines across many cities in the prices of existing single family homes across the ...

Texas manufacturing weakened further in September. Most indicators of current production and general business conditions recorded their lowest readings since the survey’s inception in 2004. Respondents largely attributed the weakness to Hurricane Ike hitting the Texas Gulf Coast on Sept. 13 and leading to widespread factory closures in the ...

Personal income increased $61.5 billion, or 0.5 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) decreased $93.3 billion, or 0.9 percent, in August, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $3.9 billion, or less than 0.1 percent. In July, personal income decreased $69.0 billion, or 0.6 ...

The U.S. current-account deficit--the combined balances on trade in goods and services, income, and net unilateral current transfers--increased to $183.1 billion (preliminary) in the second quarter of 2008 from $175.6 billion (revised) in the first quarter. The increase was more than accounted for by a decrease in the surplus on income and ...