A measure of the Iowa economy was unchanged in May from April, marking the second month in a row that the index has held steady, the Iowa Department of Revenue said. Four of the eight components in the Iowa Leading Indicators Index were positive in May. They were, from the largest contributor to the smallest, the Iowa stock market index, residential building permits, the new orders index and average weekly unemployment claims, which have recorded seven consecutive months of positive growth. The index of agriculture profits was a negative contributor for the eighth time in the past 12 months with a decrease in expected profits experienced by one of the two crop commodities and the two livestock commodities. Compared with last year, new-crop corn prices were 7.9 percent higher and soybean prices were 8.1 percent higher; however, soybean break-even prices were higher as well this year, pushing down expected profits. Read the report here.