More bad economic news

[gbpfan1231]

it's not all sweetness and light, either:

Your posts are lame and boring - you need to come up with a schtick. Try something like.....

 

Using an abundant number of CAPS and maybe start off your posts with Perch, - wait I think that is taken

 

Try - using the or using words like innernets and yer not so smart - wait that is taken.

 

I guess all the good schticks are gone.

[Clubfoothead]

it's not all sweetness and light, either:

 

Why was this so unexpected?

[bpwallace49]

it's not all sweetness and light, either:

 

But is this good news?

 

Corporate Profits Were the Highest on Record Last Quarter

 

EmailPrint..CATHERINE RAMPELL, On Tuesday November 23, 2010, 3:22 pm EST

The nation’s workers may be struggling, but American companies just had their best quarter ever.

 

American businesses earned profits at an annual rate of $1.66 trillion in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago, at least in nominal or non-inflation-adjusted terms.

 

Corporate profits have been going gangbusters for a while. Since their cyclical low in the fourth quarter of 2008, profits have grown for seven consecutive quarters, at some of the fastest rates in history.

 

This breakneck pace can be partly attributed to strong productivity growth — which means companies have been able to make more with less — as well as the fact that some of the profits of American companies come from abroad. Economic conditions in the United States may still be sluggish, but many emerging markets like India and China are expanding rapidly.

 

Tuesday’s Commerce Department report also showed that the nation’s output grew at a slightly faster pace than originally estimated last quarter. Its growth rate, of 2.5 percent a year in inflation-adjusted terms, is higher than the initial estimate of 2 percent. The economy grew at 1.7 percent annual rate in the second quarter.

 

Still, most economists say the current growth rate is far too slow to recover the considerable ground lost during the recession.

 

“The economy is not growing fast enough to reduce significantly the unemployment rate or to prevent a slide into deflation,” Paul Dales, a United States economist for Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients. “This is unlikely to change in 2011 or 2012.”

 

The increase in output in the third quarter was driven primarily by stronger consumer spending. Wages and salaries also rose in the third quarter, which might help bolster holiday spending in the final months of 2010.

 

Private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investment, exports and federal government also contributed to higher output. These sources of growth were partially offset by a rise in imports, which are subtracted from the total output numbers the government calculates, and a decline in housing and other residential fixed investments.

[bpwallace49]

Data hints U.S. recovery is becoming self-sustaining

 

By Lucia Mutikani Lucia Mutikani – 1 hr 1 min ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New U.S. claims for jobless benefits hit their lowest level in more than two years last week while consumer spending rose for a fourth straight month in October, suggesting the economy is nearing a self-sustaining recovery.

 

The picture was further brightened by another report on Wednesday that showed consumer sentiment in November reached its highest level since June, likely reflecting the surge in stock prices in the wake of a Federal Reserve decision to again loosen monetary policy.

 

But the upbeat mood was tempered somewhat by unexpected declines in new home sales and in orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in October.

 

"Up to this point I was very reluctant to say we have turned the corner into a self-sustaining expansion. I think we are verging on that," said Robert Dye, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh.

 

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 34,000 to 407,000, the lowest since mid-July 2008, the Labor Department said. That was well below economists' expectations for a fall to 435,000.

 

Claims have broken out of lofty ranges that had held for much of the year and are now firmly in territory that economists say suggest solid job creation.

 

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in October, just a touch below the 0.5 percent gain expected on Wall Street.

 

STRENGTHENING RECOVERY

 

The jobs and spending data provided further evidence of a strengthening in economic activity and helped to divert investors' attention from Ireland's debt crisis. Stocks on Wall Street were up more than 1 percent in late afternoon trade.

 

Prices for U.S. government debt tumbled, while the dollar touched a two-month high against the euro.

 

Spending is expected to get a boost this Friday, the traditional start to the holiday shopping season.

 

Consumers' willingness to open their wallets was highlighted in upscale jeweler Tiffany & Co's (TIF.N) quarterly results, which beat Wall Street forecasts.

 

"It looks like Christmas is coming this year after all, and holiday spending will be the best since 2006," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York.

 

Although spending increased last month, inflation continued to slow, helping to deflect criticism of the Fed's decision to pump more money into the economy by buying an additional $600 billion worth of government debt.

 

The consumer spending report showed the Fed's preferred core inflation measure slipped to just 0.9 percent when measured from year-ago levels, the smallest gain on records dating to 1960. Fed officials, who are worried an unexpected shock could tip the economy into a troubling deflation, want to see inflation running around 1.7 percent to 2 percent.

 

SENTIMENT RISES, BUT HOME SALES, PRICES FALL

 

Economists attributed the rise in the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final November consumer sentiment index to both improving labor market conditions and the lift stocks received from the Fed's so-called quantitative easing. The index reached 71.6 this month, up from 67.7 in October.

 

"It does look like the launch of quantitative easing is coinciding with a turning point in the U.S. economy. Can we say there is a direct one-to-one correlation, I don't think we can say that yet, but the timing sure looks good," said PNC Financial's Dye.

 

But an 8.1 percent drop in new homes sales to a 283,000 unit annual rate last month was a reminder of the risks to the recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s. The median new home price fell a record 13.9 percent from September to the lowest level since October 2003.

 

The Commerce Department also said durable goods orders slipped 3.3 percent, the largest decline since January 2009. Excluding transportation, orders dropped 2.7 percent, the biggest fall since March 2009.

 

Though economists were reluctant to read too much into the data given its volatile nature and the fact that the decreases followed big gains in September, they were worried that the drop in orders was almost across the board.

 

More concerning, non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft -- a closely watched proxy for business spending -- dropped 4.5 percent after rising 1.9 percent in September.

 

This is just terrible news.

[bushwacked]

it's not all sweetness and light, either:

 

I think a primary point of the thread is not that everything is good, but there are a lot of positive indicators (i.e... things are getting better) and most of you negative Nancy's can't help but to knee-jerk towards downplaying or counter-reacting to that; resulting from political allegiance.

Edited November 25, 2010 by bushwacked

[Avernus]

:

[bushwacked]

Hey Avernuts, was today the biggest sucker rally of all time on Wall Street or was it the one of the dozens before the one today?

[Avernus]

Hey Avernuts, was today the biggest sucker rally of all time on Wall Street or was it the one of the dozens before the one today?

 

[bushwacked]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/busi...wallstreet.html

 

A jump in hiring by small businesses and reports of global expansion in the manufacturing industry sent U.S. stocks sharply higher Wednesday and pushed bond prices down.

 

ADP Employer Services said employment at private companies jumped by 93,000 in November as small businesses added the largest amount of workers in three years. Economists had expected private companies to add 70,000 jobs. Private sector employment grew by 83,000 in October, ADP said

 

[Perchoutofwater]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/busi...wallstreet.html

 

 

 

 

Good news, I hope it continues. I wonder what happened in November that could have caused this

[gbpfan1231]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/busi...wallstreet.html

 

 

 

Great news. More people working and less unemployment - win win win

[bushwacked]

Good news, I hope it continues. I wonder what happened in November that could have caused this

 

So now that the House is under Repub control, you can finally consider good economic news to actually be good? How completely "unexpected."

Edited December 1, 2010 by bushwacked

[Perchoutofwater]

So now that the House is under Repub control, you can finally consider good economic news to actually be good? How completely "unexpected."

 

I think private businesses adding more people in November than they have in any month in the last three years is very good. I just wonder what prompted it? You seem to have come to the conclusion that it was the election. You many be right, I don't know. I know that there is a higher probability of small business owners getting to keep their taxes where they are for right now, than there was prior to the election, and that might have something to do with it, but I don't know? It was an honest question that you automatically assumed had political undertones.

[bushwacked]

So, what you are saying, is after poo-pooing almost every single positive economic report and indicator over the last year, you can suddenly appreciate a positive report for what it is, another sign the economy is on a slow and sustainable recovery. But you can't articulate the reason you think it's good news and your sudden change in attiutude is just pure "coincidence."

 

A post from PerchedonBoehnersPeener having a political undertone? How unexpected!

[Perchoutofwater]

So, what you are saying, is after poo-pooing almost every single positive economic report and indicator over the last year, you can suddenly appreciate a positive report for what it is, another sign the economy is on a slow and sustainable recovery. But you can't articulate the reason you think it's good news and your sudden change in attiutude is just pure "coincidence."

 

A post from PerchedonBoehnersPeener having a political undertone? How unexpected!

 

Most of the other so-called positive employment numbers that have been brought about have been with temporary government jobs, not private sector jobs. IMO there is a big difference, as those of us who actually pay taxes, pay for the temporary government workers salaries, where as private businesses pay for the salaries that they are taking on, which also indicates that business people are actually starting to see some real growth rather than the artificial growth seen with the stimulus, and the artificial employment statistics associated with the census. Of course you'd rather name call than have honest discussion, so I don't even know why I bother.

Edited December 1, 2010 by Perchoutofwater

[driveby]

This should help.

[bushwacked]

Most of the other so-called positive employment numbers that have been brought about have been with temporary government jobs, not private sector jobs.

 

Sorry, private jobs have been expanding and govt. jobs have been decreasing for some time now.

[Perchoutofwater]

Sorry, private jobs have been expanding and govt. jobs have been decreasing for some time now.

 

Government jobs have been decreasing as temporary census workers and state and local employees of bankrupt governments are being let go. Show me where private sector jobs has increased at a rate large enough to stabilize the unemployment rate, or for that matter where they have been higher than expected and not revised backward a few weeks later.

[bushwacked]

Show me where you've coincidentally applauded the increase of private sector jobs before today.

[Perchoutofwater]

Show me where you've coincidentally applauded the increase of private sector jobs before today.

 

I have, and I will once you show me where you've been critical of the Obamassiah just once.

[bushwacked]

Number of time Perch tries changing the argument = the amount of times he is wrong = a lot.

[wiegie]

Not that anyone cares, but here are the monthly changes in private employment for the last 4 years:

 

Year Month Change

2007 M01 186

2007 M02 79

2007 M03 213

2007 M04 65

2007 M05 127

2007 M06 42

2007 M07 15

2007 M08 -109

2007 M09 -14

2007 M10 65

2007 M11 97

2007 M12 23

2008 M01 -12

2008 M02 -85

2008 M03 -58

2008 M04 -161

2008 M05 -253

2008 M06 -230

2008 M07 -257

2008 M08 -347

2008 M09 -456

2008 M10 -547

2008 M11 -734

2008 M12 -667

2009 M01 -806

2009 M02 -707

2009 M03 -744

2009 M04 -649

2009 M05 -334

2009 M06 -452

2009 M07 -297

2009 M08 -215

2009 M09 -186

2009 M10 -262

2009 M11 75

2009 M12 -83

2010 M01 16

2010 M02 62

2010 M03 158

2010 M04 241

2010 M05 51

2010 M06 61

2010 M07 117

2010 M08 143

2010 M09 107

2010 M10 159

[Perchoutofwater]

Number of time Perch tries changing the argument = the amount of times he is wrong = a lot.

 

You realize you are the one that changed the argument right? Seriously dude I appreciate the attention, as anyone would, but you are starting to get a little creepy.

[bushwacked]

Not that anyone cares, but here are the monthly changes in private employment for the last 4 years:

 

Year Month Change

2007 M01 186

2007 M02 79

2007 M03 213

2007 M04 65

2007 M05 127

2007 M06 42

2007 M07 15

2007 M08 -109

2007 M09 -14

2007 M10 65

2007 M11 97

2007 M12 23

2008 M01 -12

2008 M02 -85

2008 M03 -58

2008 M04 -161

2008 M05 -253

2008 M06 -230

2008 M07 -257

2008 M08 -347

2008 M09 -456

2008 M10 -547

2008 M11 -734

2008 M12 -667

2009 M01 -806

2009 M02 -707

2009 M03 -744

2009 M04 -649

2009 M05 -334

2009 M06 -452

2009 M07 -297

2009 M08 -215

2009 M09 -186

2009 M10 -262

2009 M11 75

2009 M12 -83

2010 M01 16

2010 M02 62

2010 M03 158

2010 M04 241

2010 M05 51

2010 M06 61

2010 M07 117

2010 M08 143

2010 M09 107

2010 M10 159

 

I wonder what happened that caused this?

Edited December 2, 2010 by bushwacked

[gbpfan1231]

Not that anyone cares, but here are the monthly changes in private employment for the last 4 years:

 

Year Month Change

2007 M01 186

2007 M02 79

2007 M03 213

2007 M04 65

2007 M05 127

2007 M06 42

2007 M07 15

2007 M08 -109

2007 M09 -14

2007 M10 65

2007 M11 97

2007 M12 23

2008 M01 -12

2008 M02 -85

2008 M03 -58

2008 M04 -161

2008 M05 -253

2008 M06 -230

2008 M07 -257

2008 M08 -347

2008 M09 -456

2008 M10 -547

2008 M11 -734

2008 M12 -667

2009 M01 -806

2009 M02 -707

2009 M03 -744

2009 M04 -649

2009 M05 -334

2009 M06 -452

2009 M07 -297

2009 M08 -215

2009 M09 -186

2009 M10 -262

2009 M11 75

2009 M12 -83

2010 M01 16

2010 M02 62

2010 M03 158

2010 M04 241

2010 M05 51

2010 M06 61

2010 M07 117

2010 M08 143

2010 M09 107

2010 M10 159

So this shows that private employment has increased every month in 2010. Wow that is impressive - good trend and the last few months have been good as well (some has to be due to holiday season) but still a good story.