Statistical Notes Friday August 12

-Money supply growth in the United States continued to accelerate, with M1 increasing at an annualized rate of more than 20% the 6 months (26 weeks), and M2 and MZM increasing more than 10%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit increased as exports fell, something that if the net revision of other factors are zero will result in a downward revision of second quarter GDP.

-Employment was unchanged in Australia in July, with full time employment falling. This however follows a strong June increase, and compared to a year earlier employment is up 1.7%.

-French GDP growth stalled in the second quarter, being unchanged compared to the previous quarter and increasing just 1.5% compared to a year earlier.

-Greece performed far worse, as its GDP contracted by 6.9% compared to a year earlier.

-Estonia, by contrast, as hinted yesterday saw its economy boom, with GDP increasing 8.4% in the year to the second quarter.

-Hong Kong like Estonia saw continued strong growth, as GDP grew by 5.1% in real terms compared to a year earlier in the second quarter. This however is a lower increase compared to previous quarters.

-Machinery orders in Japan rose, indicating that Japan is recovering from its tsunami-induced slump.