The Consumer Credit Report for January 2010 was released by the Federal Reserve last Friday, showing a modest gain in total consumer credit. The trend has been declining since 2008, with 2009 total credit going into the negative, representing a contraction in the credit market.

The most dramatic drops have been in revolving credit. This trend did not change for this report. Most non-revolving loans are collateralized, whereas revolving credit is represented mainly by credit cards and revolving credit lines at banks and credit unions. Declines in both markets were seen throughout 2009, with revolving credit bearing the brunt of the …more

JERUSALEM — Israel is still the third-strongest housing market in the world after losing its number-one ranking to Hong Kong and Taiwan in the second half of 2009, according to the Global Property Guide. Home prices were 15.5% higher in inflation-adjusted terms in the fourth quarter of 2009 than the corresponding quarter of 2008.

Israel is widely seen as the last Western country to fall into recession and the first to resume growth as a result of its monetary and fiscal polices combined with stricter lending-standards that caused the country to avoid the subprime-mortgage collapse.

In related news, the …more

No matter how large a country’s debt may seem when it is reported in the daily headlines, a debt figure in nominal terms is a useless statistic unless it can be placed in an relevant, economic context. A headline like “U.S. debt explodes to $13 trillion” is meaningless by itself.

To judge the debt level of a country, economists generally use a statistic that is the government debt as a percentage of gross domestic-product (GDP). The reasoning is simple: as long as government revenue grows more quickly than debt payments, the country is fiscally sound. (The government receives more revenue from …more

The Federal Reserve Money Supply Report was released today, showing an almost 1% contraction in January 2010. The chart below shows the month to month percent change in money supply since January 2008…more

The preliminary Factory Orders Report for January 2010 was released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, showing a modest increase in new orders at 1.7%. This number was revised down from the 3% gain reported in the advanced report for January 2010 on February 25.

The Department of Labor Jobless Claims report out today shows a 6% drop in initial unemployment claims when adjusted for seasonal variations, with 469,000 new claims this week compared to 498,000 last week…more

The European Central Bank decided today to keep the euro’s interest rate at 1% as analysts had expected. The annualized inflation-rate (PDF) is expected to reveal a decrease from 1.0% in January to 0.9% in February. Quarter-over-quarter GDP growth (PDF) across the continent remained level at 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2009, in line with expectations.

Growth in retail sales (PDF) — an important measurement of consumer spending, roughly thirds of the economy — fell from 0.5% in December to -0.3% in January, matching expectations (see chart). Productivity PMI (PDF) declined from 56.9 in January to …more

The Monster Job Index for February 2010 was released this morning, showing gains in employment across most sectors of the economy…more

The Beige Book, a report issued by the Federal Reserve in advance of it’s next policy setting meeting on March 16 noted several key factors in the economy. It states that consumer spending is up in many districts but also notes that February snowstorms also hampered activity in others.

Commercial real estate was reported as weak in many districts as well as construction. Loan demand is also weak, and lending standards remain tight throughout the country.

Overall, the Fed states that economic conditions are improving, though the details show many areas of the economy remain weak.

The full report can be found here.

The measure of a successful partnership is not commonality in success but perseverance in hardship.

Take Europe. The continent is known for many things. It was the core of a Roman Empire that ruled and brought modernity (for the time) to the Iberian Peninsula, Gaul, Britain, central and southeastern Europe, northern Africa, Egypt, east Asia, and the Middle East. It nurtured an adolescent Christianity and brought the faith to the world. Its colonial empires brought civilization — and bloodshed — to every part of the world. Its kings and prime ministers waged war with each other for centuries over land …more