U.S. jobs
U.S. Jobs Growth and Equities
February 2, 2013
The Dow Jones Industrials (DJIA) closed at 14,010 on Friday, February 1, 2013, which was only the seventh time ever with a close above 14,000. All six other instances were grouped tightly in early October 2007, including the record of 14,165 on October 9 that year. Friday’s extended rally was triggered by the Labor Department […] More
U.S. and Ezone Manufacturing Conditions Worse in May than April
June 1, 2012
According to the ISM survey of U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers, activity expanded last month for the 34th straight time but at a slower pace than in April and January. In Euroland, factory-sector activity contracted for the tenth straight month and at a faster speed since June 2009. PMI readings above 50 denote expansion, while sub-50 […] More
Street Expecting Good U.S. Jobs Report
January 6, 2012
Today is U.S. jobs day, and whisper numbers are conjecturing that non-farm payroll employment may have risen as much as 200K. This optimism follows yesterday’s strong jobless claims and ADP private employment figures. There appears to be more room for a reaction to weaker-than-forecast results. In the meantime, investors have other concerns, mostly but not […] More
Fresh Blast of Risk Aversion
September 2, 2011
At 13:50 GMT, U.S. share prices were down 1.6-1.7%. Earlier trading overnight saw equities fall by 1.2% in Japan, 1.8% in Hong Kong, 1.5% in Australia, 1.1% in China and 0.9% in New Zealand. Europe has seen the most damage, with the German Dax and Paris Cac suffering losses so far of 3.5% and the […] More
America’s Jobs Deficit and Budget Deficit
July 21, 2011
The U.S. economy has substantial imbalances in its labor market and public finances. Politicians from both the Democratic Party and Republican Party have chosen to attach higher priority to correcting the budget than to labor market in part because of the belief that they can directly affect the fiscal outlook but jobs only indirectly because […] More
Eye on U.S. Jobs Data and Greek Debt Melodrama
June 3, 2011
Markets got the bad U.S. jobs report they had feared. Jobs climbed only 54K, a third of expectations, and March and April figures were revised downward by a combined 39K. Non-farm payroll jobs were merely 242K greater than a year earlier. That’s a rise of 0.2%. Unemployment increased to 9.1% from 9.0% in April and […] More
Investors Expecting Strong U.S. Jobs Report
January 7, 2011
EUR/USD slid 0.2% and below the key $1.3000 level ahead of the U.S. monthly labor force survey. Analysts revised up their employment forecasts this week to nearly 200K, and some whisper numbers are approaching 300K. The unemployment rate is seen edging down from November’s 9.8%. The dollar otherwise shows gains of 0.2% against the yen […] More
July Trade Data Roundup
September 9, 2010
U.S. and Canadian July trade figures, released today, offered a very stark contrast in absolute terms and relative to market expectations. The U.S. goods and services deficit contracted 14% from June’s elevated $49.8 billion but was nonetheless the second biggest shortfall of 2010 and $1.77 billion greater than the first-half average deficit of $41.0 billion […] More
Dollar Marginally Higher Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report
August 6, 2010
The dollar firmed 0.3% against the Swiss franc and posted 0.2% gains against sterling, the yen, the Canadian dollar and the euro. It also edged 0.1% higher versus the yuan and the kiwi. Only the Aussie dollar held steady against the greenback as dealers await U.S. July labor figures at 12:30 GMT. A 60-65K drop […] More
Note on U.S. Growth
July 29, 2010
The Federal Reserve Beige Book gave a somber snapshot of the state of activity in June and early July. The pace of activity slowed in the Fed districts of Atlanta and Chicago, stalled in the Kansas City and Cleveland districts, and and was modestly positive but not picking up further in other areas. However competitive […] More
