The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index — a key measure of job offerings in major newspapers across America — was unchanged in April. The Index stands at 29. It was 34 one year ago.
Euro area (EA13) and EU27 GDP both grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2007, compared with the previous quarter, according to first estimates released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In the fourth quarter of 2006, growth rates were +0.9% in both the euro area and the EU27.
Between 2000 and 2006, EU27 exports of goods to Japan fell slightly in value, from 45.5 bn euro to 44.7 bn, while EU27 imports from Japan decreased by 17%, from 92.1 bn to 76.8 bn. As a result the EU27 deficit in trade with Japan declined from 46.6 bn in 2000 to 32.1 bn in 2006. The share of Japan in the EU27's total external trade in goods has fallen by a third between 2000 and 2006. In 2006, Japan accounted for 4% of EU27 exports and 6% of EU27 imports, and was the EU27's fifth most important trading partner.
Euro area (EA13) seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 7.1% in April 2007, compared with 7.2% in March. It was 8.0% in April 2006. The EU27 unemployment rate was also 7.1% in April 2007, compared with 7.2% in March. It was 8.0% in April 2006.
As of mid-May, short interest in 2,752 NASDAQ Global Market(sm) securities totaled 8,205,105,350 shares compared with 7,819,110,519 shares in 2,756 Global Market issues for the month of April. The May short interest represents 3.94 days average daily NASDAQ Global Market share volume for the reporting period, compared with 4.17 days in April.
The Chicago Board of Trade announced plans to launch electronically-traded credit default swap Index futures contracts. The new CBOT CDR Liquid 50TM North American Investment Grade (NAIG) Index futures contracts are scheduled to begin trading on June 25, 2007.
Statistics just published by the European Commission show a significant increase in the amount of counterfeit and pirated articles seized at the EU's external borders in 2006. Customs officials seized more than 250 million of such articles in 2006 compared with 75 million in 2005 and 100 million in 2004. Medicines, cigarettes and other goods that can seriously damage the health of consumers continue to be faked in large quantities. Changes in the routes used by criminals to trade in fake goods, the use of the internet and the transport of small quantities by air or postal traffic make customs job even more challenging. However, customs' reply has never been as high as in 2006 with more than 36.000 seizures, an increase of around 40% compared with 2005.
The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) increased in both the EU and the euro area in May, after remaining almost stable in April. The indicator increased moderately, by 1.3 points in the EU and by 0.9 of a point in the euro area, to 114.9 and 111.9 respectively.
Mortgage rates increased for the fifth consecutive week, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to the highest point since August. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is now 6.47 percent and has an average of 0.26 discount and origination points.
