Menu

In January 2011, Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufactured goods was up by 0.9 percent month-on-month and 6.6 percent year-on-year; purchasing prices for industrial producers rose by 1.2 percent month-on-month and 9.7 percent year-on-year.

The price index for U.S. imports increased 1.5 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as higher prices for fuel and nonfuel imports each contributed to the advance. U.S. export prices rose 1.2 percent in January, following increases of 1.5 percent in November and 0.6 percent in December.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France increased 0.8 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.2 percent in December.

In December 2010 compared with November 2010, seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 0.1% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27. In November 2010 production rose by 1.4% and 1.2% respectively.

GDP increased by 0.3% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.2% in the EU27 during the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the third quarter of 2010, growth rates were +0.3% in the euro area and +0.5% in the EU27.

The first estimate for the euro area (EA16) trade balance with the rest of the world in December 2010 gave a 0.5 bn euro deficit, compared with +3.2 bn in December 2009. The November 2010 balance was -1.5 bn, compared with +2.7 bn in November 2009. In December 2010 compared with November 2010, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.4% and imports by 1.1%.

In December 2010 the OECD area unemployment rate was 8.5%, down 0.1 percentage point from November. The OECD rate (now including Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia, the four countries that joined OECD in 2010) has been stable at around 8.5% since February 2010, despite diverging trends at the national level. New data show that the unemployment rate for the United States fell by 0.4 percentage point (the second consecutive decline) to 9.0% in January 2011, while the rate for Canada rose by 0.2 percentage point to 7.8%.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. increased 0.7 percent, and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) remained unchanged in December.

A new Harris Poll on consumer spending and saving, using questions that have been asked eight times since the financial and economic crisis began, shows some very small increases in the number of people who say they are likely to spend their money on various big ticket and other purchases. These are consistent with several recent reports of modest increases in consumer sentiment and spending. This poll also shows a very small decrease in the numbers of people who are saving or investing more money. However all of these very small changes could be the result of sampling and other errors that can affect all surveys.

Is social media redefining how we find love? That's the theme of a study released today by Euro RSCG Worldwide, the world's largest advertising agency by number of global accounts. The study reports on the impact social media has had on everything from the definition and ease of cheating to the wide-spread acceptance of flirting and finding love online.