New applications for the unemployment benefits in the world's biggest economy dropped significantly during the last week, pointing to further improvement in the labour market.
Business activity in the Eurozone's largest economy surged more than initially was expected, adding to signs the worst is over and the region's economy will start gaining momentum soon.
U.S. jobless benefits claims dropped unexpectedly in the week ended January 19 reaching its lowest level since January 2008, the Labor Department showed in a report on Thursday. The report said the number of applications for unemployment benefits declined by 5,000 to 330,000 last week, the lowest figure in five years, compared to economists predictions of 355,000 claims."The swings are
Output of private sector in Germany increased in January hitting its twelve-month high as the service activity has the biggest impact rising at the fastest pace since June 2011, while manufacturing production grew slightly in January. Markit Flash Germany Composite Output Index added 3.3 points as it rose from 50.3 in December to 53.6 in January."The euro dipped on French
The number of mortgage approvals in the U.K. rose in November to its highest level in a nine-month period, suggesting that the home loan market is going through stabilization, the British Banker's Association reported on Thursday. Mortgage approvals rose from 33,634 in October to 33,128 in November, while the gross mortgage lending reached 7.7 billion pounds.Households "continuing to repay virtually
Economic expectations for Switzerland improved for the fourth consecutive month, indicating that investors and analysts are getting less anxious over future economic outlook.
The Bank of Japan bowed to pressure from the government led by the new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to announce a plan for a bigger-than-expected financial stimulus.
Britain's unemployment rate fell unexpectedly last month, while the number of people in work has reached another record high, indicating some improvement in the labour market.
A gauge of home prices in the world's largest economy rose for the tenth month in a row, as buyers competed for a dwindling inventory of properties, the report by the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed on Wednesday.
The Eurozone economy is widely expected to start gaining momentum this year, albeit slowly, as the sovereign debt crisis looks to be contained, a number of CEO'S said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Switzerland's economic sentiment improved for the fourth time in a row as a sign of better times for the economy, however the majority of economists see the economic situation will remain unchanged in the next six-month period. The ZEW-CS indicator rose by 8.6 points to minus 6.9 points in the first month of 2013, compared to a figure of minus
The number of British people applying for unemployment benefits surprisingly decreased in December to the lowest level since the middle of 2011, the Office of National Statistics reported on Wednesday. The U.K. jobless claims declined by 12,100 in the last month of 2012 to 1.557 million, the lowest figure since June 2011, while the wider ILO measure fell also by
Canadian retail sales advanced for the fifth consecutive month in November, led by record car purchases, adding to some signs of strength in the Canadian economy.
The Bank of Japan doubled its inflation target and made an open-ended commitment to buy assets from next year in order to end years of economic stagnation.
The British government borrowed slightly more than initially expected in December, adding to concerns that the country will not manage to meet its short-run deficit reduction goals, causing new challenges to the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
Sales of existing homes in the world's largest economy dropped unexpectedly in December, as fewer people put their properties on the market, although not by enough to derail the boost housing will likely provide to the U.S. economy this year.
Confidence among German investors increased to the highest in 2 1/2 years in January, adding to signs that the Europe's largest economy may gather momentum.
German ZEW Economic Sentiment edged higher in January suggesting, according to experts, a brighter time for the German economy in the next six months and contributed to an optimism that the market outlook for 2013 will be bullish for the shared currency. The ZEW indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany accelerated by 24.6 points to 31.5 points in January, its
The Japanese central bank adopted its biggest changes in order to boost the economy and to end a twenty-year period of stagnation, committing to a stimulus monetary policy, but disappointed investors as they will delay the program until 2014. The BoJ established a 2% inflation level to be achieved as soon as possible with a 13 trillion yen a month open-ended asses
The amount of cash Swiss commercial banks held with nation's central bank rose slightly in the week to January 18, a sign that investors are getting less anxious over Eurozone's financial woes.
The Bank of Japan will have to slow its stimulus measures in case the appreciation of goods and the nation's currency go too far, according to Koichi Hamada, who's advising Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
London home prices advanced most since February 2010 in January, indicating some improvement in the property market, according to Rightmove Plc.
After being re-elected for the second term and being the first African-American president, Barack Obama took the oath of office on Monday.
Price pressure at factories in the Europe's largest economy was weaker than it was initially expected due to lower energy costs, Germany's federal statistics office said Monday.