Economic News

House Prices Continue To Rise In Most Chinese Cities

Home prices increased in most of the Chinese cities in April even as the government tightened measures to curb property prices. House prices increased in 68 out of 70 cities in April from the previous year, the same number of cities as seen in March, data published by the National Bureau of Statistics... Read more...

U.S. Leading Economic Index Rises 0.6% In April, Much More Than Expected

Led by building permits and the interest rate spread, leading economic indicators in the U.S. rose by more than anticipated in the month of April, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Friday. The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.6 percent in April following a revised 0.2 percent decrease in March. Read more...

EU Banks' Asset Review, Stress Test Should Be Published By Mid-2014: Mersch

European banks' asset quality review and stress test should be conducted by mid-2014, before the European Central Bank takes over banking supervision, Executive Board member Yves Mersch said Friday. Read more...

US / CANADA

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Jumps To Nearly Six-Year High In May

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has seen a substantial improvement in the month of May, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday, with the consumer sentiment index rising to its highest level in nearly six years. Read more...

U.S. Leading Economic Index Rises More Than Expected In April

Led by housing permits and the interest rate spread, leading economic indicators in the U.S. rose by more than anticipated in the month of April, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Friday. Read more...

Philly Fed Index Unexpectedly Indicates Contraction In May

Manufacturing firms responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's monthly Business Outlook Survey unexpectedly indicated that regional manufacturing activity has contracted in the month of May. A report released by the Philly Fed on Thursday showed that its diffusion index of current activity fell to a negative 5.2 in May from a positive 1.3 in April. Read more...

EUROPE

BoE's Weale Says Risks To Inflation Expectations Limit Scope For Stimulus

Bank of England policymaker Martin Weale said the bank's capacity to add stimulus is limited by the risk to inflation expectations. Read more...

ECB Exploring Options To Strengthen Lending: Coeure

European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said Friday that the central bank is looking at options to improve lending to small firms, which form the backbone of the Eurozone economy. "The ECB is today exploring options to further strengthen lending to the real economy and, in particular,... Read more...

Eurozone Construction Output Declines Sharply

Eurozone construction output continued its decline for the fifth month in a row in March, Eurostat reported Friday. Read more...

ASIA

S&P Retains Negative Outlook On India

Standard & Poor's on Friday maintained its negative outlook on India's 'BBB-' rating, indicating at least a one-in-three chance of a downgrade within the next twelve months. Read more...

Singapore Export Slump Eases As Non-Electronic Shipments Improve

Decline in Singapore's non-oil exports eased in April amid an improvement in overseas demand for the country's non-electronic products, a report from International Enterprise (IE) Singapore showed Friday. On a year-on-year basis, non-oil domestic exports fell 1 percent in April following a 4.8 percent fall in the previous month. The rate of decrease was weaker than the 1.9 percent drop expected. Read more...

China Conference Board Leading Index Rises In April

A leading indicator for China's economic activity increased in April, a report from the Conference Board showed Friday. The leading economic index (LEI) increased 1.5 percent in April to reach 260.8. This followed a 0.6 percent decline in March and a 1.3 percent increase in February. Four of the... Read more...

GLOBAL ECONOMICS

Lithuania's Jobless Rate Rises Modestly In Q1

Lithuania's unemployment rate increased modestly in the first quarter, data released by the Department of Statistics showed Friday. The unemployment rate edged up to 13.1 percent in the first quarter from 13 percent in the fourth quarter. The latest figure was, however, notably lower than 7.3 percent... Read more...

Spain Leading Index Points To Further GDP Contraction: Conference Board

A leading indicator of the Spanish economy declined for the second successive month in March, suggesting that the current contraction in the economy is likely to continue, even though it may ease in the coming months, data from a survey by the Conference Board showed Friday. The leading economic index... Read more...

French Economy Likely To Expand In H2, Says FinMin

The French economy is likely to grow in the second half of this year, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said in an interview with RTL radio, after official data showed that the nation entered a recession in the first quarter. Moscovici said he is confident that the unemployment will drop by the end... Read more...

ANALYSTS COMMENTS

Eurozone Economy Faces Risk Of Further Contraction In Q2: IHS Global Insight

The continuing recession and the recent relapse in business confidence suggest that the Eurozone economy is in serious danger of suffering further modest contraction in the second quarter, IHS Global Insight... Read more...

German Economy Likely Avoided Further Contraction In Q1: Capital Economics

The unexpected growth in Germany's industrial production in March indicates that a second consecutive fall in GDP was probably avoided in in the first quarter, Capital Economics European Economist Ben... Read more...

ECONOMIC CALENDAR

Time (et)

Economic Indicator

Period

Actual

Forecast

Country

Sunday ,May.19

19:01

Rightmove House Prices (M-o-M)

MAY

2.1 %

RTT's Global Coverage
Australia	Iceland	Poland
Austria	India	Portugal
Belgium	Indonesia	Romania
Brazil	Ireland	Russia
Bulgaria	Israel	Serbia
Canada	Italy	Singapore
Chile	Japan	Slovakia
China	Latvia	Slovenia
Croatia	Lithuania	South Africa
Cyprus	Luxembourg	South Korea
Czech Republic	Macau	Spain
Denmark	Macedonia	Sri Lanka
Egypt	Malaysia	Sweden
Estonia	Malta	Switzerland
Eurozone	Mauritius	Taiwan
Finland	Mexico	Thailand
France	Moldova	Turkey
Germany	Netherland	UK
Greece	New Zealand	United States
Hong Kong	Norway	Vietnam
Hungary	Philippines

Editor's Pick
Most Read
Most E-Mailed

U.S. Leading Economic Index Rises 0.6% In April, Much More Than Expected

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Jumps To Nearly Six-Year High In May

Singapore Export Slump Eases As Non-Electronic Shipments Improve

Japan Core Machine Orders Spike 14.2% In March

Philly Fed Index Unexpectedly Indicates Contraction In May

U.S. Consumer Prices Fall 0.4% On Sharp Drop In Energy Prices

U.S. Housing Starts Show Sharp Drop But Building Permits Jump

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rebound To 360,000

Eurozone Exports Rise For Third Month

New Zealand Sees Budget Surplus In 2015 As Economy Gathers Momentum

German Q1 GDP Growth Misses Forecast; France Enters Recession

U.S. Retail Sales Unexpectedly Inch Up By 0.1% In April

Eurozone Industrial Production Climbs On Energy, Revives Recovery Hopes

U.S. Import Prices Drop 0.5% Amid Lower Fuel Prices

Eurogroup Okays Bailout Payments To Cyprus, Greece

China Retail, Industrial Output Growth Accelerates In April

India April Trade Gap Widens On Massive Gold Imports

Italy's Trade Surplus Increases In March

U.S. Business Inventories Come In Flat For Second Straight Month

Japan Consumer Confidence Declines Unexpectedly

Australia Home Loan Approvals Record Strongest Gain In 4 Years

Philly Fed Index Unexpectedly Indicates Contraction In May

U.S. Leading Economic Index Rises 0.6% In April, Much More Than Expected

New Zealand Home Prices Surge In April

China Retail, Industrial Output Growth Accelerates In April

Estonia GDP Contracts In Q1

Ireland Construction PMI Lowest In Seven Months

Swiss Retail Sales Fall In March

Bank Of France Sees 0.1% Growth For Q2

Mixed China Data Underscores Fragility Of Recovery

AUDIO NEWS

INTERVIEW: Christopher Low Of FTN Financial: Stablization Is The Key To Positive Sentiment

In an interview with RTTNews, Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, explains why the market continues to reach new highs despite any major catalysts. "In a way, companies are benefitting from an economy that is growing but not growing fast" and that's what's sustaining this rally says Low.

INTERVIEW: Ken Goldstein Of The Conference Board: Economic Growth Will Continue To Pick Up Through 2015

In an interview with RTTNews, Ken Goldstein, an economist at The Conference Board, discusses first quarter economic growth and where we're headed as we get deeper into2013. "Given what we've been dealing with...this is good enough to get us back to some semblance of what is robust growth for the United States," says Goldstein.

INTERVIEW: Tom Nardone Of The Department Of Labor Gives An In Depth Look At The April Jobs Report

In an interview with RTTNews, Tom Nardone, Assistant Commissioner for Current Employment Analysis at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, gives an in depth look at the April jobs report.

INTERVIEW: Peter Morici Of The University Of Maryland: "Things Are Getting Worse"

In an interview with RTTNews, Peter Morici, economist and professor at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, discusses the potential for a double-dip recession in the United States. According to Morici, "the second quarter is not going to be a good quarter," says Morici. Just how bad could it be? It all hinges on Europe right now he says.

MARKET UPDATES

Market Optimism Persists as Consumer Sentiment Data Looms

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with sentiment remaining positive despite the extended rally. Although there was a pause yesterday, the major averages settled close to their record highs notwithstanding the release of lukewarm data. Corporate earnings the markets...

TSX Ends Higher On Upbeat Economic Data - Canadian Commentary

Upbeat Economic Data Contributes To Rally On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

The Swiss Stock Market Climbed Friday On Strength Of Defensive Heavyweights

COMMODITIES

Crude Oil Ends Above $96 On Upbeat Economic Data

Gold Ends Sharply Lower On Strong Dollar; Sheds 5% For Week

Crude Steady Above $95