Posts tagged Economy
Consumer Prices Were Lower Than Reported
Jan 15th
Consumer prices where lower than expected in December leading many to believe that recovery is not under way quite yet. There seem to be two differing beliefs about the economy. One of them says the economy is starting to improve and the other is basically saying we are entering wave 2 which means the worst is yet to come.
Consumer prices decrease slightly
The National Statistics Office has reported that in December, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices went down to 108.38 from 108.57 in November 2009. In December 2009, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices went down by 0.2 per cent over the previous month.
This primarily reflected a drop of 1.0 per cent in the Food and Non-alcoholic beverages Index, mainly due to a decrease in the price of vegetables. The Recreation and Culture Index went down by 0.5 per cent, mainly on account of lower prices for package tours. Downward shifts in the prices of some jewellery items and certain financial services caused the Miscellane- ous Goods and Services Index to decline by 0.2 per cent.
The Transport Index registered a drop of 0.1 per cent, mainly as a result of lower prices for motor cars. Seasonal price increases in garments caused the Clothing and Footwear Index to go up by 0.9 per cent. The Health Index increased by 0.2 per cent, mainly on account of higher prices for pharmaceutical products.
An upward movement in the prices of certain household textiles caused the Furniture, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House Index to go up by 0.1 per cent. A similar increase was registered in the Restaurants and Hotels Index, mainly due to seasonal price rises in accommodation services. –more
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Beige Book Review
Jan 14th
Beige Book came out and although it isn’t one of the announcements that can cause big swings in the market like Non-farm Payroll, it does give some insight as to what is happening in the economy.
Beige Book Review – Economic Outlook Improving But Still Slow
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Wednesday released the Beige Book based on information collected in late November through January 4, 2010. 10 out of 12 districts showed economic improvement in the reporting period, suggesting a broadening of recovery. However, over improvement remained at low level compared with pre-recession level in 2007.
Consumer spending grew in the recent 2009 holiday day from that in 2007 but still well-below 2007 levels. Shopping behavior was ‘cautious, price sensitive and focused on necessities, but sometimes willing to spend on discretionary purchases’. Auto sales were flat or up slightly.
Housing market saw increase in sales volume towards the end of the year, especially for lower-priced homes. However, housing prices were little changed since the previous report.Commercial real estate was still weak in nearly all districts with rising vacancy rates and falling rents. Loan demands were weak or even declined during the period and credit quality also deteriorated further.
Concerning employment, while a few districts reported modest pickup in hiring/hiring plans, the general outlook remained soft. Price pressures remained subdued in nearly all districts, suggesting minimal wage growth. –more
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Jobless Claims Show Hope
Dec 31st
Image by Jack's_Smirking_Revenge via Flickr
Fewer people have filed for unemployment benefits last week which is a good sign for the economy. The Christmas season generally provides more jobs because of the extra shopping that is done around that time.
Whether or not the trend will continue into the new year is another story that only time can tell, but for now we will take any bit of good news we can about the economy.
New Jobless Claims Fall Unexpectedly
The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, a sign the job market is healing as the economy slowly recovers.
New jobless claims have dropped steadily since September, raising hopes that the economy may soon begin creating jobs and the unemployment rate could decline. That, in turn, would give households more money to spend and add fuel to the broader economic rebound that began earlier this year.
The Labor Department said Thursday that new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 432,000, the lowest since July 2008. That’s much better than the rise to 460,000 that Wall Street economists expected.
The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, fell for the 17th straight week to 460,250, the lowest since September 2008, when the financial crisis intensified. The crisis led to widespread mass layoffs, which sent jobless claims to as high as 674,000 last spring.
Analysts cautioned that the weekly data could be artificially low due to seasonal factors, such as the Christmas holiday and recent snowstorms. –more
Related jobless claims articles
- Ahead of the Bell: Jobless Claims (abcnews.go.com)
- 5.6 Million Reasons to Doubt Jobless Rate (online.wsj.com)
- Jobless Claims Drop Unexpectedly (nytimes.com)
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