| Today's Economy
Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold Gradual improvement in U.S. nominal wage growth will continue. Europe Daily Briefing: Euro Zone Indicators Impress The GDP and unemployment figures were generally rosy across the board. Asia-Pacific Daily Briefing: Still Above Neutral, Just Softer global trade and less local investment have weighed on China's manufacturing sector. First-Quarter U.S. Corporate Bond Issuance Had High-Grade Up 44%, Medium-Grade Off 12%, and High-Yield Down 14% More than half of the first quarter’s sequential percent advance by real GDP came from international trade and inventories. » VIEW MORE TODAY'S ECONOMY
Commentary
Trade Patterns Show Shifting Global Trends Improved U.S. export demand in the March quarter was a product of stronger European demand. U.S. Chartbook: Shaking it Off Growth could have been even better but the partial federal government shutdown was a weight. U.S. Weekly Highlights and Preview, April 26, 2019 Don't expect any surprises from the Fed. Europe Weekly Highlights and Preview, 26 April, 2019 The survey data have all but warned of a grim start to the year for the currency area’s economies. » VIEW MORE COMMENTARY
Today's Economic Indicators
France
Household Consumption Survey
Mar. 2019: -0.1%
France's household goods consumption fell by 0.1% m/m in March, slowing the decline relative to the prior month’s 0.4% fall. France
GDP
2019Q1: 0.3%
Preliminary numbers for France’s first-quarter GDP growth posted at 0.3% q/q, the same rate as in the previous two stanzas, and 1.1% y/y, up from 1% previously. Spain
Retail Sales
Mar. 2019: 0.4%
Spain’s retail sales momentum continued in March, with growth coming in at 0.4% in seasonally adjusted terms. Thailand
Foreign Trade
Mar. 2019: US$3.6 bil
Taiwan (Province of China)
GDP
2019Q1: 1.7%
Taiwan's economic growth moderated further in the first quarter, cooling to 1.7% y/y from 1.8% in the previous quarter, continuing the downward trajectory that started in the second quarter of 2018. Italy
Unemployment
Mar. 2019: 10.2%
Italy’s labor market strengthened in March with the unemployment rate dropping to 10.2% from 10.5% in February. Germany
Unemployment
Apr. 2019: 4.9%
Germany’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.9% in April after it fell to this new record low in March. Euro Zone
Preliminary GDP
2019Q1: 0.4%
Preliminary numbers for the euro zone’s first-quarter GDP growth showed a marked improvement over the second half of 2018. Euro Zone
Unemployment
Mar. 2019: 7.7%
The euro zone’s jobless rate dropped to 7.7%, its lowest since October 2008, and beat the consensus forecast of 7.8%. Brazil
Employment Situation
Mar. 2019: 12.7%
Brazil’s unemployment continued to increase in March, still affected by the typical seasonality in the first few months of the year. Chile
Employment
Mar. 2019: 6.9%
Chile's national unemployment rate averaged 6.9% in the January-March rolling quarter, unchanged from a year earlier. Chile
Manufacturing Production
Mar. 2019: 1.3%
Manufacturing production in Chile reported improvement in March on an annual basis, helped by the comparison base of last year. Canada
Industrial Product and Raw Materials Price Indexes
Mar. 2019: 1.3%
Canadian industrial product prices jumped 1.3% in March. Canada
Industry Output
Feb. 2019: -0.1%
Canadian GDP took another small step backward in February. United States
Employment Cost Index
2019Q1: 0.7%
Tightening in the U.S. labor market isn’t generating a ton of pressure on employment costs. United States
S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller® Home Price Indexes
Feb. 2019: 3.0%
House price appreciation decelerated again in February, continuing the slowing trend that has been in place for approximately 11 months. United States
Pending Home Sales
Mar. 2019: 105.8
The pending home sales index rose 3.8% to 105.8 in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, partially reversing the downward trend experienced over the past couple of years. United States
Moody’s Analytics Policy Uncertainty Index
April 26: 125.1
The four-week moving average in our U.S. policy uncertainty index increased from a revised 122.1 to 125.1 in the week ended April 26. United States
Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Apr. 2019: 129.2
Consumer confidence recovered from March’s steep decline, gaining ground in the present situations index and in consumer expectations. South Korea
Foreign Trade
Apr. 2019:
United States
Agricultural Prices
Mar. 2019: 2.8%
The Agricultural Prices Received Index rose 2.8% in March thanks to increases in the crop production index and the livestock production index. Argentina
Economic Activity Indicator
Feb. 2019: -4.76%
The Argentine statistics office’s monthly economic activity index fell 4.8% y/y in February after dropping 5.8% in the previous month. » VIEW MORE ECONOMIC INDICATORS | 
