Although the feeling of stringent corporate financing has been mitigated, lending by financial institutions still remains stagnant. The US economy continues to expand, although some sectors of the economy are showing signs of a slowdown compared with the beginning of the year. Personal spending is increasing as a whole, but spending on durable consumer goods is decreasing. Capital spending is increasing sharply. Housing investment increased.
Recent movements show that new housing starts are decreasing.
Employment is rising, while prices are generally stable. The unemployment rates have declined in Germany and France, although they still remain at high levels. The level of unemployment is also declining in the U.K. Prices are generally stable in Germany, although import prices are rising. Prices are also generally stable in France and stable in the U.K. Turning to East Asia, the pace of economic growth has slightly increased recently in China, and consumer prices have turned upward. Both exports and imports are rising sharply in China.