Monthly Archives: November 2015

[11/18/15]  Housing starts in the United States fell to a seven-month low in October, weighed down by a steep decline in the construction of multifamily homes. A surge in building permits, though, suggested that the housing market remained on solid ground.

Groundbreaking dropped 11 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.06 million units last month, the lowest level since March, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

October was the seventh consecutive month that starts remained above one million units, the longest stretch since 2007. Building permits increased 4.1 percent to an annual rate...

[11/17/15]  Consumer prices in the United States increased in October after two consecutive months of declines, as the cost of health care and other services rose. The economic outlook also received a lift from other data on Tuesday showing a fairly solid increase in manufacturing output in October.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that its Consumer Price Index increased 0.2 percent last month, reversing a 0.2 percent drop in September. In the 12 months through October, the index advanced 0.2 percent; it was unchanged in September.

Signs of stabilization in prices after a recent...

[11/17/15]  U.S. manufacturing output rose in October for the first time in three months as factories cranked out more steel, cars and computers. Manufacturing production increased 0.4 percent last month, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday, after slipping 0.1 percent in September. The rise suggests that manufacturers may be overcoming several headwinds they have faced for most of this year. Many retailers and wholesalers have been cutting back on their stockpiles after ordering too many goods this winter. That has weighed on output. And the strong dollar has cut into exports by making U.S. goods more expensive overseas. Economists warned that the drag from the strong dollar will likely persist,...