New York City business activity expanded for the first time since January 2008, according to the survey taken by the National Association of Purchasing Management-New York (NAPM-NY). The Current Business Conditions index rose sharply to 61.3 in May from 28.3 in April.

Future optimism persisted for the third straight month, reinforcing the belief that recovery could begin this year. The Six-Month Outlook index rose to 56.1 in May from 51.2 in April. ...

The Chicago Purchasing Managers reported the CHICAGO BUSINESS BAROMETER rate of decline stabilized as the May reading fell to equal the six month moving average.

BUSINESS ACTIVITY:
PRICES PAID index decline continued to signal broad deflation;
EMPLOYMENT weakened further;
NEW ORDERS and ORDER BACKLOG indexes contributed further softness;
BUYING POLICY: Lead-times continued mixed. ...

Consumer confidence rose in May as consumers became increasingly convinced that the economy is in its final stages of contraction and that President Obama’s stimulus programs would spark renewed economic growth. While consumers anticipate an improved economy, they nonetheless think that their own financial situation will improve only ...

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 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2009, (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In ...

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) was down 1.1% in April, to a seasonally adjusted level of 81.0 (2002 = 100). Revised data show the index decreased 2.9% in March, to 81.8. The Federal Reserve Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) edged down 0.2% in April. Regional output in April was down 22.7% from ...

Tenth District manufacturing activity declined only slightly in May, and firms generally expect steady conditions heading forward. Price indexes in the survey indicated continued declines in both materials and finished goods prices.

The net percentage of firms reporting month-over-month increases in production in May was -3, up from -6 in April and -21 in March (Tables 1 & 2, Chart). Production indexes increased at non-durable-goods producing plants, but eased a bit at durable-goods plants, ...

For the week ending May 16, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer fell by -0.2 percent after having exhibited some measure of stability over the past two weeks. A drop in auto production weighed most on the barometer in the latest week with all of Chrysler’s North American plants closed due to bankruptcy and six of GM’s plants closed due ...

Sales of new one-family houses in April 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 352,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 0.3 percent (±14.5%) above the revised March rate of 351,000, but is 34.0 percent (±11.0%) below the April ...

In the week ending May 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 623,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 636,000. The 4-week moving average was 626,750, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of ...

New orders for manufactured durable goods in April increased $3.0 billion or 1.9 percent to $161.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This was the second increase in the last three months and followed a 2.1 percent March decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.8 percent. Excluding defense, new orders also ...

Existing-home sales rose in April with strong buyer activity in lower price ranges, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.68 million units in April from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million units in March, but were 3.5 percent below the 4.85 ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index rose 0.8% in the week ended Saturday from its level a week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales rise 0.5%. The weekly gain was the biggest since the week before ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 22, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 786.0, a decrease of 14.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 915.9 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased ...

Texas factory activity remained weak and changed little from April to May, according to the business executives who responded to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The manufacturing sector’s rate of decline stabilized over the past three months—a change from the accelerating contractions in the last quarter of 2008 and first two months ...

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index™, which had improved considerably in April, posted another large gain in May. The Index now stands at 54.9 (1985=100), up from 40.8 in April. The Present Situation Index increased to 28.9 from 25.5 last month. The Expectations Index rose to 72.3 from 51.0 ...

In May, the seasonally adjusted manufacturing index — our broadest measure of manufacturing activity — jumped to 4 from April's reading of −9. Among the index's components, shipments gained twelve points to 9, new orders rose twelve points to finish at 10, and the jobs index advanced fourteen points to end ...

Data through March 2009, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index continues to set record declines, a trend that began in late 2007 and prevailed ...

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was –2.06 in April, up from –3.36 in March. All four broad categories of indicators improved in April, but each continued to make a negative contribution to the index. The index’s three-month moving average in April reached its highest level since ...

Employers took 2,712 mass layoff actions in April that resulted in the separation of 271,226 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 single ...

The region's manufacturing sector continued to show weakness in May, according to firms polled for this month's Business Outlook Survey. Although the indexes for general activity, shipments, and employment improved, the index for new orders declined slightly. Firms reported decreases in input prices and prices for their own manufactured ...

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ (LEI) for the U.S. increased 1.0 percent, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index™ (CEI) decreased 0.2 percent and The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index™ (LAG) decreased 0.5 percent in April.

The Conference Board LEI for the U.S. rose sharply in April, the first increase in seven months, and the strengths among its components exceeded the weaknesses for the first time in one and a half years. Stock prices, the interest rate spread, consumer expectations, initial ...

For the week ending May 9, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer remained unchanged compared to an upward revised increase of +0.2 percent in the prior week. Surprisingly, auto and truck production did not weigh on the barometer in the latest week even though all of Chrysler’s North America plants were shuttered due to ...

In the week ending May 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 631,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 643,000. The 4-week moving average was 628,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 15, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 915.9, an increase of 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 895.6 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased ...

BUILDING PERMITS
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000. This is 3.3 percent (±2.3%) below the revised March rate of 511,000 and is 50.2 percent (±1.4%) below the revised April 2008 estimate of 991,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell 1.2% in the week ended Saturday from its level a week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales fell 0.3% in the latest ...

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved for a second consecutive month in May to the highest level since September of 2008, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The HMI rose two points to 16 ...

The economy looks weaker now than it did in February, according to 51 forecasters surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The forecasters project lower real GDP growth and higher unemployment rates in 2009 and 2010 than they did three months ago. In the current year, the forecasters see the economy contracting at a rate of ...

Industrial production decreased 0.5 percent in April after having fallen 1.7 percent in March. Production in manufacturing declined 0.3 percent in April and was 16.0 percent below its recent peak in December 2007. The decreases in manufacturing in April remained broadly based across industries. Outside of manufacturing, the output of mines ...

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent in April before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This index has fallen 0.7 percent over the last 12 months, due primarily to a 25.2 percent drop in energy prices. The year-over-year declines in March ...

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers worsened only modestly in May. Although negative, the general business conditions index rose 10 points to -4.6, its highest level since August of last year. The new orders index fell several points and remained below zero, while the shipments index ...

For the week ending May 2, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer eked out a +0.1 percent gain with 80 percent of the barometer’s components posting improvement. Consumers seemed more upbeat and showed it by shopping, home buying, and going to the movies. Truck production plummeted in the latest week and more losses in this sector are ...

In the week ending May 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 637,000, an increase of 32,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 605,000. The 4-week moving average was 630,500, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average of ...

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.3 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This rise followed a 1.2-percent decline in March and a 0.1-percent increase in February. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of ...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers' shipments for March, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $971.7 billion, down 1.6 percent (±0.2%) from February 2009 and down 15.6 percent (±0.4%) from March ...

The U.S. Import Price Index rose 1.6 percent in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. A 15.4 percent increase in import petroleum prices more than offset a 0.4 percent decline in the price index for nonpetroleum imports. Export prices also rose in April, increasing ...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $337.7 billion, a decrease of 0.4 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month and 10.1 percent (±0.7%) below April 2008. Total ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 8, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 895.6, a decrease of 8.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 979.7 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased ...

The Nation's international deficit in goods and services increased to $27.6 billion in March from $26.1 billion (revised) in February, as exports decreased more than imports.

Goods and Services
Exports decreased to $123.6 billion in March from $126.6 billion in February. Goods were $82.0 billion in March, down from $84.5 billion in February, and services were $41.7 billion in March, down from $42.2 billion in February. ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index rose 0.3% in the week ended Saturday, May 9, from its level a week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales rise 0.5% in the ...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that March 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 $310.9 billion, down 2.4 percent (+/-0.7%) from the revised February level and were down 18.1 percent ...

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in April (-539,000), and the unemployment rate rose from 8.5 to 8.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Since the recession began in December 2007, 5.7 million jobs have been lost. In April, job losses were large and widespread across nearly ...

Consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 2 percent in the first quarter. Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 6-1/2 percent, and nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 1 percent. In March, consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of ...

For the week ending April 25, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer declined by -0.8 percent on a large drop in activity nearly across the board. Record-high summer-like temperatures across much of the country drove consumers indoors to catch the latest movie, which was just about the only category to experience an increase during the ...

In the week ending May 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 601,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 635,000. The 4-week moving average was 623,500, a decrease of 14,750 from the previous week's revised average of ...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported preliminary productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all persons--for the first quarter of 2009. The seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity growth in the first quarter were: 1.1 percent in the business sector and 0.8 percent in the nonfarm ...

Nonfarm private employment decreased 491,000 from March to April 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment Report. Despite some recent indications that stock prices, consumer spending, and housing activity may be bottoming out, employment, which usually trails overall economic activity, is likely to decline ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 1, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 979.7, an increase of 2.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 960.6 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased ...

The NMI (Non-Manufacturing Index) registered 43.7 percent in April, 2.9 percentage points higher than the 40.8 percent registered in March, indicating contraction in the non-manufacturing sector for the seventh consecutive month, but at a slower rate.

The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index increased 1.1 percentage points to 45.2 percent. The New Orders Index increased 8.2 percentage points to 47 percent, and the Employment Index increased 4.7 percentage points to 37 percent. The Prices Index increased 0.9 ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index rose 0.7% in the week ended Saturday from its level a week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales fall 0.8% in the latest ...