US - Economic Data & News 01 (May 08 - Jul 08)

Re: US - Economic Data & News

Postby kennynah » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:53 pm

Sen. Dodd Says Government Can Begin Enacting Housing Bill As Soon As October 1
7/29/2008 7:17 PM ET


(RTTNews) - The federal government expects to start enacting provisions of the housing relief bill as soon as October 1, according to Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the chairman of the Senate panel that oversaw the measure.

Dodd, speaking to reporters after a meeting with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, FDIC Chair Sheila Bair and HUD Secretary Steven Preston, said the four organizations had pledged to convene a high level meeting Wednesday to start working out the details.

The Connecticut senator, who said he had been very reassured by the meeting, struck a dramatically different tone than he did after the bill passed the Senate Saturday, when he reacted angrily to the prospect of "slow walking" the implementation.

A news report had quoted a HUD official as saying implementation could take as much as a year.

Dodd said Preston told him the rules laid out in the bill would allow HUD to "blow through the process" usually required to implement Congressional directives and said the four agency heads were "confident" they could implement measures to help homeowners stave off foreclosure by October 1.
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Re: US - Economic Data & News

Postby millionairemind » Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:46 pm

Fed announces new liquidity-boosting measures
Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:13am EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page| Recommend (0) [-] Text [+]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it was extending a credit facility that it provides for primary dealers in one of several steps to boost liquidity in stressed financial markets.

The U.S. central bank said its Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF) and its Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) will be extended through January 30.

It also said that it will introduce 84-day Term Auction Facility (TAF) loans, which it said will complement its existing 28-day TAF loans. The Fed introduced the loans program to try to ease a credit crunch that policy-makers feel has shown only limited signs of easing.
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Re: US - Economic Data & News

Postby millionairemind » Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:23 pm

Bennigan's Bankruptcy Indicative of Larger Casual Dining Woes, Says Technomic
Last update: 9:32 a.m. EDT July 30, 2008

CHICAGO, Jul 30, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The sudden timing of Bennigan's Chapter 7 filing may have surprised many industry observers, but the difficulties facing S & A Restaurant Corp. and many other casual dining chains have been readily apparent for some time.

"These restaurants share many subtle and complex challenges that extend beyond this difficult economic climate," says Ron Paul, president of Technomic. "To some extent, they've become victims of their own success--a mature category with too many units and not enough differentiation, at least in the eyes of consumers."

According to Technomic, the top 20 casual dining chains in the category in which Bennigan's operated had unit growth of 45 percent during the most recent five-year period, well beyond the growth in demand.

Recent Technomic research on the segment also identified factors that have helped some casual-dining operators remain successful, while others have stumbled. Those factors include strong unit economics, excellent execution in food quality and service, and the ability to convey a strong price/value perception with consumers, regardless of the total amount spent.
"In terms of achieving differentiation, it's hard to underestimate the importance of the food element," says Paul. "Consumers are naturally drawn to unique, signature menu items. When the chain can also layer in excitement through new or limited-time offerings, they help create an environment where consumers want to come back. A good experience can generate all-important buzz around the concept."

Technomic provides food and foodservice clients with the research, insights and strategic consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. Technomic offers proprietary management consulting solutions and shared-cost, common-interest research.
SOURCE: Technomic, Inc.
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Re: US - Economic Data & News

Postby millionairemind » Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:28 pm

ADP Says U.S. Companies Increased Payrolls by 9,000 (Update3)
By Shobhana Chandra

July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Companies in the U.S. unexpectedly added an estimated 9,000 jobs in July, a private report based on payroll data showed today.

The increase followed a revised drop of 77,000 for the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, ADP Employer Services said.


Over the past six months, payrolls have been negative each month while ADP has only 2 negative readings over the past 7 months.

In the first six months of the year, figures from the Labor Department show private payrolls have been negative each month while ADP has only two negative readings over the past seven months. The extended housing slump, record fuel prices and crisis in credit markets have weakened demand, prompting employers to cut staff.

``The trend is toward lower jobs,'' Roger Kubarych, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Global Research, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York. ``There is still contraction in construction jobs and manufacturing jobs, offset to a great extent, but not entirely, by the services sector and the government.'' ADP has ``been overestimating'' the government's figures ``for many months now,'' he said.

The ADP report was forecast to show a decline of 60,000 jobs, after a drop of 79,000 previously estimated for June, according to the median projection of 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates ranged from decreases of 115,000 to 4,000.

Survey Differences

ADP includes only private employment and does not take into account hiring by government agencies. Macroeconomic Advisers LLC in St. Louis produces the report jointly with ADP.

``Employers are being extremely cautious about expanding payrolls,'' Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisors, said in a telephone interview today. ``In sectors where there were excesses in payrolls, we're still working those off.''

The ADP figures come ahead of the government's Aug. 1 report, which may show total payrolls fell by 75,000 in July, the seventh consecutive months of job losses, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate probably increased to 5.6 percent.

Payrolls dropped by an average 94,000 a month from January through June, according to the Labor Department. The ADP estimate shows gains of almost 11,000 on average.

Goods, Services

Today's ADP report showed a decrease of 65,000 jobs in goods-producing industries including manufacturers and construction companies. Service providers added 74,000 workers. Employment in construction fell by 16,000 and financial firms increased jobs by 4,000.


Companies employing more than 499 workers shrank their workforce by 32,000 jobs. Medium-sized businesses, with 50 to 499 employees, cut 9,000 jobs and small companies increased payrolls by 50,000.

The ADP report is based on data from 399,000 businesses with about 24 million workers on payrolls.

Further softening in the job market adds to concern that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, will retrench. Recent reports indicate the boost from the government's tax rebates may be starting to fade.

Concerns about the credit crunch have roiled U.S. households, outweighing worries about surging consumer prices, said Larry Kantor, head of research at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York.

``When people are focused on the financial distress, these worries about inflation go to the sidelines,'' Kantor said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg Radio. Over the next three to six months, `that's going to be the main issue.''

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, the second-biggest U.S. Coke bottler, is among companies cutting staff to offset a surge in the cost of energy and raw materials. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said on July 18 it will eliminate 350 positions, about 5 percent of its workforce.

ADP began keeping records in January 2001 and started publishing its numbers in 2006.
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Re: US - Economic Data & News

Postby kennynah » Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:33 am

everyone bracing for1st reading of GDP figures on thurs...
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Re: US - Economic Data & News

Postby kennynah » Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:34 pm

guess what..... screwed....

immediately Futures tanked...

**********
Revised Data Show Economy Declined in Last Quarter of 2007
7/31/2008 8:31 AM ET


(RTTNews) - The economy grew at a slower pace than previously thought from 2005-2007, revised data from the government showed Thursday. The updated statistics also showed that the economy actually shrank in the last 3 months of 2007.

The new information provides more fodder for those analysts who have said that the U.S. has already entered into a recession.

Many more optimistic experts have pointed out that the technical definition of a recession - two consecutive quarters of economic contraction - has not yet occurred. But Thursday's revised information makes it possible that the country could eventually mark a recession beginning in late 2007.

The U.S. Commerce Department revealed that its revised statistics showed a 2.6 percent annual growth rate in Gross Domestic Product from 2005-2007, a downward revision compared to the 2.7 percent annual growth that was previously reported.

For the fourth quarter of 2007, the updated statistics indicated that the economy saw a 0.2 percent contraction, compared to the 0.6 percent growth that was previously reported.

((truncated....))
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Re: US - Economic Data & News

Postby kennynah » Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:35 pm

jobless claims up 44K

Dollar falls amid GDP, jobless data
7/31/2008 8:33 AM ET


(RTTNews) - The dollar fell against the euro after the release of government data showing that US second quarter GDP grew 1.9 percent, coming roughly in line with estimates.

The buck dropped to 1.5660 versus the euro. Analysts are pointing out the the dollar's decline may be attributed to worse-than expected jobs data, released at the same time as the growth figures.

**********
Weekly Jobless Claims Jump To 448,000
7/31/2008 8:42 AM ET


Image

(RTTNews) - Thursday morning, the Department of Labor released its report on initial jobless claims in the week ended July 26th, revealing that jobless claims unexpectedly showed a notable increase compared to the previous week.

The report showed that jobless claims jumped to 448,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 404,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to fall to 395,000 from the 406,000 originally reported for the week ended July 19th.
Last edited by kennynah on Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: US - Economic Data & News

Postby kennynah » Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:38 pm

all these figures get whacked out of place,.....when last Q07 GDP was revised drastically...

as a consequence....Futures turned from modestly +ve to now -ve ~ 100



GDP Increases 1.9% In The Second Quarter
7/31/2008 8:36 AM ET


(RTTNews) - The pace of U.S economic growth accelerated in the second quarter, according to a report released by the Department of Commerce on Thursday, although the pace of growth came in well below economist estimates.

The report showed that gross domestic product increased by 1.9 percent in the second quarter following a revised 0.9 percent increase in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to grow 2.3 percent compared to the 1.0 percent growth originally reported for the previous quarter.
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Re: US - Economic Data & News (May 08 - Jul 08)

Postby millionairemind » Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:46 pm

Funny thing is this Q407 data is in the PAST...

2Q GDP showed growth...

Mkt is always forward looking by 6-9mths...

Happy days ahead???
"If a speculator is correct half of the time, he is hitting a good average. Even being right 3 or 4 times out of 10 should yield a person a fortune if he has the sense to cut his losses quickly on the ventures where he has been wrong" - Bernard Baruch

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