All Blog Posts (1,487)

JDfn Daily Digest - December 10, 2008

Wholesale inventories fell by 1.1 percent in October following a downwardly revised 0.4 percent decrease in September. The decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected an increase of about 0.2 percent.

Congress will vote as early as today on a $15 billion plan Democrats reached with the Bush administration to keep U.S. automakers afloat while forcing them to restructure. The tentative agreement calls for appointment of a so-called “car czar” who could force General… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on December 10, 2008 at 10:40am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - December 9, 2008

The National Association of Realtors reported that further weakening may be in store for the U.S. housing market. An index of sales contracts on previously owned U.S. homes fell 0.7% in October from the prior month. The index, which is considered a leading indicator of existing home sales, was down 1% from the prior year.

Canada's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate more than expected, reducing the overnight rate by 75 basis points to 1.50% because of the "weakening outlook… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on December 9, 2008 at 10:00am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - December 8, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama wants to make something very clear: The economy is not going to immediately recover when he takes his oath of office, but he has a plan to get the country moving. Obama introduced a recovery plan "equal to the task" that would be the largest public works spending program since the interstate highway system was build a half-century ago.

Congressional Democrats and the White House reportedly agree on the broad outlines of a deal to rescue the failing U.S.… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on December 8, 2008 at 10:10am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - December 5, 2008

U.S. non-farm payrolls fell by an astonishing 533,000 in November, the worst job loss in 34 years. The unemployment rate rose from 6.5% in October to 6.7% in November, the highest jobless rate since October 1993. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $18.30. Over the past three months, payrolls have fallen by an average of 419,000 per month.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said President Bush is "very concerned" about the latest unemployment situation and promises… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on December 5, 2008 at 10:10am — No Comments

Nov Nonfarm payroll

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: NOVEMBER 2008

Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply (-533,000) in November, and

the unemployment rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor

Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. November's

drop in payroll employment followed declines of 403,000 in September and

320,000 in October, as revised. Job losses were large and widespread

across the major industry sectors in… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on December 5, 2008 at 8:50am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - December 4, 2008

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to drop its key lending rate by a full percentage point to 2% -- the lowest level for the benchmark since 1939. The European Central Bank's Governing Council slashed its key lending rate by 75 basis points to 2.5%. The cut is the largest in the ECB's 10-year history.

European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet said the Euro region’s economy will shrink next year for the first time since 2003 after the bank delivered the… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on December 4, 2008 at 11:05am — No Comments

weekly jobless claims Dec 4

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending Nov. 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 509,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 530,000. The 4-week moving average was 524,500, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 518,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.1 percent for the week ending Nov. 22, an… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on December 4, 2008 at 8:47am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - December 3, 2008

The Institute for Supply Management reported that non-manufacturing sectors of the U.S. economy contracted at a record pace during November. The ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 37.3% from 44.4% in October. The decline was broad-based with 17 out of 18 industries reported contraction The decline was larger than expected. Economists were looking the index to fall to 42.7%.

The Labor Department said the productivity of U.S. workers was slightly stronger in the third quarter than… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on December 3, 2008 at 11:27am — No Comments

ISM Non Manufacturing

November 2008 Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®

NMI (Non-Manufacturing Index) at 37.3%

DO NOT CONFUSE THIS NATIONAL REPORT with the various regional purchasing reports released across the country. The national report's information reflects the entire United States, while the regional reports contain primarily regional data from their local vicinities. Also, the information in the regional reports is not used in calculating the results of the national report. The… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on December 3, 2008 at 10:09am — No Comments

US productivity 3rd quarter 2008

PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS

Third Quarter 2008, revised

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today

reported revised productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all

persons--for the third quarter of 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual rates

of productivity growth in the third quarter were:

1.5 percent in the business sector and

1.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector.

In both sectors,… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on December 3, 2008 at 9:03am — No Comments

Nov ADP

ADP NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT SHOWS U.S.

EMPLOYMENT DECREASED BY 250,000 PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS IN

NOVEMBER

Largest decrease in private sector employment since November of 2002

private sector employment decreased by 250,000 in November.

The ADP National Employment Report, created by ADP® Employer Services, a division

of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), is based on actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm private

employment each… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on December 3, 2008 at 8:52am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - December 2, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama is promising the country's governors that they will play a role in designing an economic recovery plan. Obama told the governors meeting in Philadelphia that "if we're listening to our governors, we'll not only be doing what's right for our states, we'll be doing what's right for our country.”

The National Bureau of Economic Research said the U.S. economy, now officially in recession, may be in the midst of the longest slump in the post- World War II era… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on December 2, 2008 at 10:38am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - December 1, 2008

The Institute for Supply Management reported that manufacturing activity in the United States declined at the fastest pace in 27 years in November. The ISM index fell to 36.2% in November from 38.9% in October. It's the lowest since late 1981. Economists were expecting the ISM index to fall to 37%.

Construction spending fell by a larger-than-expected amount in October, an indication the problems facing developers in the form of a sinking economy and severe credit crisis are deepening… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on December 1, 2008 at 11:37am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 26, 2008

Despite falling gas prices and unusual last-minute holiday deals on airplane tickets, more people are expected to stick close to home this Thanksgiving. In fact, the AAA says the 41 million Americans expected to take trips at least 50 miles for Thanksgiving is about 600,000 less than traveled last Thanksgiving.

All U.S. financial markets will be closed tomorrow in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday and will close at 1 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Friday.

Paul Volcker, the… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 26, 2008 at 10:22am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 25, 2008

The Federal Reserve announced it will buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed assets in another attempt to deal with the financial crisis. The Fed said it will purchase up to $100 billion in direct obligations from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the Federal Home Loan Banks. It also will purchase another $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities, pools of mortgages that are bundled together and sold to investors.

The government is working on a new loan… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 25, 2008 at 11:47am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 24, 2008

The U.S. government agreed to rescue Citigroup (C), once the nation's largest bank and the pioneer of the one-stop-shop for business and consumer financial services, in an eleventh-hour, $326 billion plan to avoid financial collapse. The government agreed to invest $20 billion in Citi and to guarantee as much as $306 billion of Citi's troubled assets in a deal reached Sunday. The deal also gives the government control of executive bonuses, and limits dividend payments.

Pacific Rim… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 24, 2008 at 10:21am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 21, 2008

In The News

Citigroup Inc. (C) shares traded higher in premarket trading, as the financial giant was said to be looking at selling off pieces of itself -- or the entire company -- to help rebuild investor confidence. The report comes as Citigroup is also said to be a bidder for Chevy Chase Bank, a Maryland-based lender with $11.4 billion in deposits and 292 branches - a deal that could be in jeopardy because of Citigroup's sinking stock price.

Bank of New York Mellon (BK)… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 21, 2008 at 9:24am — No Comments

economic outlook

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits surged last week to their highest level in 16 years, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, as a harsh economic environment forces employers to cut back on hiring.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits were a seasonally adjusted 542,000 in the week ended November 15 from a revised 515,000 the previous week. That was higher than analysts' forecast for a reading of 505,000 new… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on November 20, 2008 at 10:47am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 20, 2008

The government said new applications for jobless benefits rose by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 542,000 from a downwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. The four-week average of claims, which smoothes out fluctuations, rose to 506,500, the highest in more than 25 years.

Manufacturing conditions in the Philadelphia region continued to deteriorate in November. The Philly Fed diffusion index fell to negative 39.3 in November from negative 37.5 in October. The index… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 20, 2008 at 10:34am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 19, 2008

Chief executives of leading U.S. companies called for a fiscal stimulus package worth at least $300 billion and urged president-elect Barack Obama to swiftly name his economic team. Dozens of chief executives met in Washington D.C. to identify what they think should be priorities for the Obama administration and the new Congress.

The Labor Department said that consumer prices fell by 1 percent last month, the biggest one-month decline on records that go back to February 1947. The… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 19, 2008 at 11:00am — No Comments