| Today's Economy
Economic Roundup: U.S. Housing Starts Still Have Room for Improvement Lower mortgage rates should begin to help housing soon. Europe Daily Briefing: Euro Zone Trade Surplus on a Downtrend Exports rose in the first quarter, defying our expectation that they would plunge. Asia-Pacific Daily Briefing: Malaysia's Softer Start to 2019 Slowdowns were broad-based across sectors of the economy. Economic Roundup: Plenty of Disappointment to Go Around U.S. and Chinese economic data were weak. » VIEW MORE TODAY'S ECONOMY
Commentary
Consumer Debt Is Not a Macro Problem Wealth and income gains make family financial burdens extremely low by historical standards. Household Debt: Don't Worry, Be Happy Never mind the hand-wringing; total household indebtedness has fallen sharply since the financial crisis. U.S. Regional Outlook: Tech Drives Differences, for Better and Worse High tech will remain concentrated in only a handful of regions. Tariffs Tracker: This Could Hurt The trade war has gone from bad to worse. » VIEW MORE COMMENTARY
Today's Economic Indicators
Indonesia
Monetary Policy
May. 2019: 6%
Bank Indonesia kept the policy rate steady as expected in May at 6%. Malaysia
GDP
2019Q1: 4.5%
Malaysia's GDP growth slowed to 4.5% y/y in the March quarter, from the 4.7% gain in the December quarter. Italy
Consumer Price Index
Apr. 2019: 1.1%
Italy’s annual harmonized EU inflation increased 1.1% y/y in April, the same as March. Euro Zone
External Trade
Mar. 2019: €22.5 bil
The euro zone’s external trade surplus narrowed to €22.5 billion in March from €26.9 billion a year earlier. United States
Philadelphia Fed Survey
May. 2019: 16.6
The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing business outlook index improved in May. United States
New Residential Construction (C20)
Apr. 2019: 1.235 mil
U.S. housing starts recovered in April, increasing 5.7% from the revised March total, but are still down 2.5% from April 2018. Canada
ADP Canada National Employment Report
Apr. 2019: 61,700
Canadian employment recorded a healthy increase in April. Canada
International Transactions in Securities
Mar. 2019: -C$1.5 bil
Shrinking foreign holdings of Canadian short-term debt, coupled with Canadian purchases of U.S. corporate bonds, generated a net outflow of portfolio investment in March. Canada
Survey of Manufacturing
Mar. 2019: 2.1%
Manufacturing sales had a standout month in March. United States
Jobless Claims
May 11: 212,000
Jobless claims are getting back on track. United States
St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index
May 10: -1.26
The St. United States
Natural Gas Storage Report
May 10: 106 bil cubic feet
The latest increase in U.S. natural gas inventories was roughly in line with analyst predictions, which will have a minimal effect on gas prices. Singapore
Foreign Trade
Apr. 2019:
Mexico
Monetary Policy
May. 2019: 8.25%
Mexico’s central bank continues to keep monetary conditions on pause in May, even though inflation is rebounding. » VIEW MORE ECONOMIC INDICATORS | 