November 2008 Blog Posts (23)

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

Nov 19 CPI

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: OCTOBER 2008

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased

1.0 percent in October, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor

Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The October

level of 216.573 (1982-84=100) was 3.7 percent higher than in October

2007.

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers

(CPI-W) decreased 1.3 percent in October, prior to seasonal… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on November 19, 2008 at 8:50am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 18, 2008

A closed-door debate between top government officials over the priorities of the government's financial market rescue package spilled out into public. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Sheila Bair clashed in public over whether to use some of the $700 billion package to aid homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

In testimony before the House Financial Services panel, Bair said the government "must decisively address the mortgage problem as… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 18, 2008 at 9:56am — No Comments

Nov PPI

Producer Price Indexes - October 2008

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods fell 2.8 percent in October, seasonally

adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This

decrease followed a 0.4-percent decline in September and a 0.9-percent fall in August. At the

earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved

down 3.9 percent in October after declining 1.2 percent in… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on November 18, 2008 at 8:57am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 17, 2008

European and Asian markets didn't think much of the lengthy action plan world leaders came up with over the weekend to address a sagging global economy. The plan was produced at a weekend meeting of leaders of the Group of 20. But analysts say it will take more than one meeting to turn the tide for a global economy undergoing its worst upheavals in decades.

Industrial output posted a bigger-than-expected rebound in October after plunging in September by the largest amount in over 60… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 17, 2008 at 11:51am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 14, 2008

President Bush and other world leaders are gathering in Washington to explore options for relief and to work on ways to prevent similar credit and financial problems from happening again. Bush is hopeful that some common ground for action can be found at the extraordinary summit, which begins with a dinner this evening followed by closed-door deliberations tomorrow.

Japan said it is ready to lend up to $100 billion to the International Monetary Fund to support nations reeling from… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 14, 2008 at 10:49am — No Comments

weekly jobless claims 10/13/08

First-time filings for state unemployment benefits hit their highest level since September 2001, rising to 516,000 in the latest week, a further sign of how the U.S. labor market's are struggling, the Labor Department.

For the week ended Nov. 8, initial claims climbed by 32,000 from last week's revised figure of 484,000.

The four-week average of new claims -- which measures the underlying trend in joblessness -- also hit a historic high, shooting up to 491,000. That's the highest… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on November 13, 2008 at 12:49pm — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 13, 2008

The Labor Department reported that jobless claims last week increased by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 516,000. That nearly matched the 517,000 claims reported seven years ago, and is the second-highest total since 1992.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the trade deficit fell by 4.4 percent to $56.5 billion in September, the smallest imbalance since October 2007. The better-than-expected improvement reflected a 15.7 percent fall in petroleum imports as the average… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 13, 2008 at 10:35am — No Comments

Update from the US Department of the Treasury

Remarks by Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. on Financial Rescue Package and Economic Update

Washington - Good morning. I will provide an update on the state of the financial system, our economy, and our strategy for continued implementation of the financial rescue package.

Current State of Global Financial System

The actions taken by Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC in October have clearly helped stabilize our financial system. Before we acted, we were… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on November 12, 2008 at 1:31pm — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 12, 2008

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced the White House has shelved plans to purchase troubled mortgage assets from banks and other financial institutions. Paulsen said some of the money saved from not buying mortgage assets will now be used to shore-up the market for credit card receivables, auto loans and student loans. He also said that the Treasury would also consider giving some capital to non-bank financial institutions.

The Federal Reserve and other U.S. regulators told… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 12, 2008 at 11:09am — No Comments

Ruble and the Dollar

Oil and Gold continue there downward spiral today, dragging commodity based currencies down with them; but none may be more negatively affected then the Russian Ruble. Russia is a major exporter of oil and other commodities and is now entrenched in the worst financial turmoil since its 1998 crisis. Local equity prices have tumbled 70% and investors have pulled billions of dollars out of the country as panic and fear have gripped the nation; over concerns with domestic and political risk, as… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on November 11, 2008 at 2:51pm — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 11, 2008

General Motors Corp. (GM), burning cash as U.S. sales drop, is being pushed closer to bankruptcy as it waits to learn whether the auto industry will win a new round of government loans. Analysts believe that only federal aid can prevent a collapse of the biggest U.S. automaker. Meantime, aides to President-elect Obama, say he spoke with President Bush yesterday about the urgency for aid to U.S. automakers.

Citigroup Inc. (C) released details of a plan that it said will help mortgage… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 11, 2008 at 10:30am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 10, 2008

The government provided new financial assistance to troubled insurance giant American International Group (AIG), including pouring $40 billion into the company in return for partial ownership. The action was taken as it became increasingly clear that an original financial lifeline given to AIG in September would not be enough to stabilize the company. Meantime, AIG said it lost $24.47 billion or $9.05 per share in the most recent quarter.

General Motors (GM) was downgraded to sell… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 10, 2008 at 10:27am — No Comments

JDfn Daily Digest - November 7, 2008

The Labor Department reported the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to a 14-year high of 6.5% in October as nearly a quarter million jobs were lost. U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 240,000 in October following a revised decline of 284,000 in September, which was the largest job loss in seven years. So far in 2008, a total of 1.18 million jobs have been lost, with 651,000 coming in just the past three months.

The Commerce Department said inventories fell by 0.1 percent. Analysts had… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on November 7, 2008 at 11:00am — No Comments