The decline in the Federal budget deficit over the past few years has been impressive, but the longer-term budget challenges linked principally to the aging of the population have still to be resolved...

The sharp drop in January's ISM manufacturing index has led to some speculation that the US recovery might be coming off the rails, particularly as it followed an unexpectedly weak gain in payroll...

The revamp of the producer prices data will provide a more comprehensive measure of pipeline price pressures, but it may not give us a greater insight into where consumer price inflation is heading.

The Fed's latest Senior Loan Officer Survey indicates that the jump in borrowing costs last year is still undermining demand for residential mortgages. The more recent drop back in mortgage rates...