Comparing Recoveries
Weekly Economic Update: August 27-31, 2012
GDP growth for the 2nd quarter was revised slightly upwards to 1.7%. The Case-Shiller index was up 0.9% in June and up 0.5% from a year ago. Pending home sales rose 2.4% in July. Personal income increased 0.3% in July while spending rose 0.4%. Factory orders were up 2.8% in July. Initial jobless cla...
Weekly Ecoconomic Update: August 20-24, 2012
Existing home sales increased 2.3% in July as new home sales rose 3.6%. Durable orders were up 4.2% in July. Initial jobless claims rose 4,000 to a level of 372,000 for the week ended 8/18.
Weekly Economic Update: August 13-17, 2012
Industrial Production rose 0.6% in July. Retail sales increased 0.8% in July. The CPI was unchanged in July while the PPI increased 0.3%. Business inventories were up 0.1% in June. Housing starts fell 1.1% in July as building permits increased 6.8%. The U.S. Treasury reported a deficit of $69.6 bill...
Weekly Economic Update: August 6-10, 2012
Consumer credit increased 0.3% in June. Productivity advanced 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed 10.6% in June to $42.9 billion. The U.S. Treasury reported a $69.9 billion deficit in July. Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to a level of 361,000 for the week ended 8/4.
Weekly Economic Update: July 30 - August 3, 2012
The economy added 163,000 jobs in July as the unemployment rate rose to 8.3%. The FOMC held constant its current target federal funds rate and other policies. The ISM index edged up 0.1 point to 49.8 in July as the ISM services index rose 0.5 points to 52.6. Auto sales declined 2.0% in July. The Cas...
Non-farm Payrolls +163,000 in July; Unemployment Rises to 8.3%
This morning the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that non-farm payrolls rose by an estimated 163,000 during July on a seasonally adjusted basis. Private sector payrolls increased by 172,000 during the month and government sector payrolls declined by 9,000.
The LIBOR Scandal
On June 27, 2012, representatives of the British bank Barclays agreed to pay a $453 million fine to U.S. and U.K. regulators to settle allegations that Barclays manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). LIBOR is a set of indices that represent the prevailing interest rates in London mon...
The Spanish Financial Crisis
Spain has become the central focus of concern over future financial solvency and stability in the Eurozone. An unmitigated crisis in Spain would have substantial adverse effects on the rest of the Eurozone and might threaten the viability of the euro going forward. The Spanish economy represents a...
The $805 Billion Price Tag of Obama’s Broken Promise on Premiums
As the end if Obama’s first term draws near, his promise to reduce the average family’s premium by $2,500 has instead amounted to an average increase of $2,393. This report analyzes actual versus promised premiums in the private health insurance market and finds that, even after accounting for ...
