Less Bad Now, Future Looks Brighter. New York City business activity declined for a 14th straight month although not at the same rapid pace as the last two months, according to the survey taken by the National Association of Purchasing Management- New York (NAPM-NY). The Current Business Conditions index rose to 43.1 in March, coming ...

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index™, which had declined sharply in February, was flat in March. The Index now stands at 26.0 (1985=100), up from 25.3 in February. The Present Situation Index declined to 21.5 from 22.3 last month. The Expectations Index increased to 28.9 from 27.3 ...

The Chicago Purchasing Managers reported the CHICAGO BUSINESS BAROMETER descended to the lowest reading since July 1980 at 31.4

BUSINESS ACTIVITY:
PRICES PAID index decline accelerated for the 2nd month;
ORDER BACKLOG index skidded to the lowest level in almost 30 years;
EMPLOYMENT indexes for February and March were the lowest two consecutive months since the series began in 1946;
BUYING POLICY: ...

Data through January 2009, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, shows continued broad based declines in the prices of existing single family homes across the United States, with 13 of the 20 metro areas showing record rates of annual decline, and 14 ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index increased 1.1% in the week to March 28 from its level a week before, on a seasonally-adjusted, comparable store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales decline by 0.2% in the latest ...

Texas’ factory activity continued to contract in March, according to firms responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. Indexes for production, capacity utilization, new orders and shipments ticked upward but remained overwhelmingly negative, with more than 80 percent of respondents reporting no change or declines in these ...

Consumer confidence remained largely unchanged in March near the same record low levels recorded since last October. The good news is that the free fall in confidence has ended. The bad news is that consumers expect their financial situation to remain dismal for the rest of 2009. Consumers reported the largest two-month gain in confidence in ...

Personal income decreased $29.1 billion, or 0.2 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) decreased $10.5 billion, or 0.1 percent, in February, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $17.2 billion, or 0.2 percent. In January, personal income increased $20.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, ...

Tenth District manufacturing activity declined at a slightly slower pace in March, and firms’ expectations for future activity improved somewhat over last month. Price indexes in the survey remained mostly negative.

The net percentage of firms reporting month-over-month increases in production in March was -21, up from -24 in February and -25 in January. Production indexes improved slightly at both durable and non-durable-goods producing plants. Most other month-over-month indexes ...

For the week ending March 14, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer reversed course and stripped out the prior week’s gains by dropping -0.9 percent. All things tied to the auto sector continue to drag down the overall economy, with car, truck and steel production accounting for -0.8 percentage points of the barometer’s decline in the ...

In the week ending March 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 652,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 644,000. The 4-week moving average was 649,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of ...

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to final estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the ...

Sales of new one-family houses in February 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 4.7 percent (±18.3%)* above the revised January rate of 322,000, but is 41.1 percent (±7.9%) below the ...

New orders for manufactured durable goods in February increased $5.5 billion or 3.4 percent to $165.6 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This increase follows six consecutive monthly decreases, including a 7.3 percent January decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 3.9 percent. Excluding defense, new orders ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 20, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 1159.4, an increase of 32.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 876.9 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index ...

In March, the seasonally adjusted manufacturing index — our broadest measure of manufacturing activity — remained negative, although it improved to -20 from February's reading of -51. Among the index's components, shipments jumped forty-one points to -15, new orders rose thirty-four points to finish at -20, and the jobs index picked up ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell by 0.4% in the week to March 21 from its level a week before, on a seasonally-adjusted, comparable store basis. This result Tuesday followed a 0.1% decrease in the prior ...

Existing-home sales increased in February, reversing losses in January. Even so, sales activity remains relatively soft, reflecting additional layoffs and buyers waiting for housing provisions in the economic stimulus package to take effect, according to the National Association ...

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was –2.83 in February, up from –3.74 in January. Three of the four broad categories of indicators—employment, production, and consumption and housing—improved from January. However, all four categories continued to make negative contributions to the index in ...

Employers took 2,769 mass layoff actions in February that resulted in the separation of 295,477 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a ...

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ (LEI) for the U.S. decreased 0.4 percent, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index™ (CEI) decreased 0.4 percent and The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index™ (LAG) decreased 0.4 percent in February.

The Conference Board LEI for the U.S. declined in February, following a slight increase in January. The monthly increase for December was revised to a small decline, while January's monthly increase was revised lower, due mainly to data revisions in manufacturers' new ...

The region's manufacturing sector continued to contract this month, according to firms polled for the March Business Outlook Survey. Indexes for general activity, new orders, shipments, and employment remained significantly negative. Employment losses were substantial again this month, with over half of the surveyed firms reporting declines. ...

For the week ending March 7, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer increased +0.5 percent following three consecutive weeks of decline, and coming off its lowest reading since April 1994 in the prior week. The consumer sector made a good showing in the latest week with housing activity jumping, perhaps prompted by new government measures ...

In the week ending March 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 646,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 658,000. The 4-week moving average was 654,750, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of ...

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) declined 5.9% in January, to a seasonally adjusted level of 85.6 (2002 = 100). Revised data show the index decreased 3.9% in December, to 91.0. The Federal Reserve Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) fell 2.6% in January. Regional output in January was down 21.8% from ...

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent in February, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The February level of 212.193 (1982-84=100) was 0.2 percent higher than in February 2008.

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners ...

The U.S. current-account deficit--the combined balances on trade in goods and services, income, and net unilateral current transfers--decreased to $132.8 billion (preliminary) in the fourth quarter of 2008, the smallest deficit since the fourth quarter of 2003, from $181.3 billion (revised) in the third quarter of 2008. The decrease ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 13, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 876.9, an increase of 21.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 723.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index ...

BUILDING PERMITS
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 547,000. This is 3.0 percent (±3.5%) above the revised January rate of 531,000, but is 44.2 percent (±1.2%) below the revised February 2008 estimate of 981,000. Single-family authorizations in February were at ...

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.1 percent in February, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This rise followed a 0.8-percent increase in January and a 1.9-percent decline in December. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell 0.1% in the week to March 14 from its level a week before, on a seasonally-adjusted, comparable store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales decline by 1.4% in the latest ...

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes remained unchanged in March as economic woes continued to take their toll on potential buyers, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI held steady at 9 in March, marking a fifth ...

Industrial production fell 1.4 percent in February; the overall index has now declined for 4 consecutive months and for 10 of the past 12 months. At 99.7 percent of its 2002 average, output in February was 11.2 percent below its year-earlier level and was the lowest level since April 2002. Production in the manufacturing sector moved down ...

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers deteriorated significantly in March. The general business conditions index fell to a fresh low of -38.2. The new orders and shipments indexes also dropped sharply to new record lows, and the inventories index declined to its lowest level since 2001. ...

The U.S. Import Price Index edged down 0.2 percent in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today, as declining nonpetroleum prices more than offset an upturn in petroleum prices. Export prices also recorded a modest decrease in February, falling ...

The Nation's international deficit in goods and services decreased to $36.0 billion in January from $39.9 billion (revised) in December, as imports decreased more than exports.

Goods and Services
Exports decreased to $124.9 billion in January from $132.5 billion in December. Goods were $82.2 billion in January, down from $88.8 billion in December, and services were $42.7 billion in January, down from $43.8 billion in December. ...

Sales. The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for January, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,004.0 billion, down 1.0 percent (±0.4%) from December 2008 and down 14.0 percent (±0.4%) from January ...

For the week ending February 28, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer declined by -1.1 percent on top of -0.6 percent in the prior week. The barometer has now fallen to its lowest reading since April 1994. In terms of diffusion, 80 percent of the barometer’s components were down in the latest week with the largest negative contribution ...

In the week ending March 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 654,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 645,000. The 4-week moving average was 650,000, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of ...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $346.8 billion, a decrease of 0.1 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month and 8.6 percent (±0.7%) below February 2008. ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 6, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 723.4, an increase of 11.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 649.7 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index ...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that January 2009 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $326.1 billion, down 2.9 percent (+/-0.9%) from the revised December level and were down 15.4 ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index increased 0.2% in the week to March 7 from its level a week before, on a seasonally-adjusted, comparable store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales decline by 0.9% in the latest ...

Consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3/4 percent in January 2009. Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 1-1/4 percent, and nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 1/2 percent.

...

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to fall sharply in February (-651,000), and the unemployment rate rose from 7.6 to 8.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment has declined by 2.6 million in the past 4 months. In February, job losses were large and widespread across nearly ...

New orders for manufactured goods in January, down six consecutive months, decreased $6.9 billion or 1.9 percent to $351.9 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 4.9 percent December decrease. ...

For the week ending February 21, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer declined by -0.6 percent on top of -0.2 percent in the prior week. In terms of diffusion, the losers were matched by winners in the latest week with half of the barometer’s components posting gains while the other half posted declines. But in terms of magnitude the ...

In the week ending Feb. 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 639,000, a decrease of 31,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 670,000. The 4-week moving average was 641,750, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of ...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported revised fourth-quarter seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity change--as measured by output per hour of all persons--and revised changes for calendar year 2008.

The revised seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the fourth quarter were -0.4 percent in the business sector and -0.4 percent in the nonfarm business sector and the annual average changes were 2.7 percent in the business sector and 2.8 percent in the ...

Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts suggest that national economic conditions deteriorated further during the reporting period of January through late February. Ten of the twelve reports indicated weaker conditions or declines in economic activity; the exceptions were Philadelphia and Chicago, which reported that their ...