Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Quick Overview

  • An index of Chicago-area business declined 65.6 to 54.1 in May for a second straight month, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago reported Tuesday.

  • The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence increased from 97.5 to 102.2 in May.

  • Germany's unemployment rate dropped from 12% to 11.6% in May.

  • The International Cocoa Organization said that the net world cocoa crop will total 3.18 million tons in 2004-2005, down from 3.46 million tons in the previous year. Ending stocks are expected to drop from 1.44 to 1.40 million tons.

  • Japan's unemployment rate fell from 4.5% to 4.4% in April, the lowest in over six years. Industrial production in Japan was up 2.2% in April, roughly as expected.

  • Canada's GDP was up 0.6% in the first quarter of 2005 and up 1.6% from a year ago, slightly less than expected.



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