The ChicagoFederal Reserve reported today that its Midwest Manufacturing Index was unchanged in March but remained at a three and-a-half year high of 92.2, and 8.6% above last March. Here are some highlights of manufacturing activity in the 7th Federal … read more >

The homeownership rate in the U.S. fell in the first quarter of 2012 to 65.4% (see chart above), according to data released today by the Census Bureau.  That was the lowest homeownership rate in 16 years, since the 65.1% rate … read more >

“Driven by solid same-store sales and traffic results and an increasingly bullish outlook among restaurant operators, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) matched its post-recession high in March. The RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the … read more >

From the Arizona Republic: “Home prices are surging in metro Phoenix, climbing 8 percent in March alone and 20 percent in the past 12 months. The median price of a house in the region climbed to $134,900, according to a … read more >

From today’s Conference Board report on online labor demand: “Online advertised vacancies rose 90,900 in April to 4,760,500, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLin (HWOL) Data Series released today (see chart above). The April rise is the fifth … read more >