Economy/Ecommerce

Existing U.S. home sales were up to an annualized rate of 4.79 million units in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Even if temporary, the storm has had an outsized impact on certain aspects of the entire economy, because it hit such a densely populated and economically active part of the Eastern Seaboard. Without the storm, industrial production would have increased for the month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday that the U.S. Consumer Price Index (for all items) edged up 0.1 percent in October. Over the last 12 months, the all-items index increased 2.2 percent—a fairly low rate of inflation, and in fact roughly what the Federal Reserve sees as its target rate under its dual mandate.

U.S. retail sales declined 0.3 percent from September to October, according to the Census Bureau.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage origination volumes dropped by 7 percent during the third quarter of 2012 compared with the same quarter in 2011, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The International Energy Agency, which released the 2012 edition of its “World Energy Outlook” on Monday, predicts that the United States is well on the way to becoming the world’s top oil producer.

Even in a healthy economy, foreclosed residential properties typically sell at a discount to non-foreclosed ones, but during the worst of the recession, when foreclosures flooded many markets around the country, the pricing difference between the two was especially pronounced.

The Congressional Budget Office—which, despite the name, Congress is under no obligation to listen to—reported on Thursday on the “economic effects of reducing fiscal tightening.”