from Bloomberg.com:
Consumer spending stalled in May as stagnant wages and slackening employment held back the biggest part of the U.S. economy.
Purchases were little changed after a 0.1 percent rise the prior month that was smaller than initially reported, according to Commerce Department figures issued today in Washington....
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Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-29/u-s-consumer-spending-unchanged-in-may-weakest-in-six-months.html
______________________
From the WSJ.com:
Consumers Become More Pessimistic
U.S. consumers were more worried about the economy at the end of June than they were last month, according to data released Friday....
Consumers are benefiting from a decline in gasoline prices, but they are worried about weaker labor markets and financial-market volatility caused by uncertainty about the euro-zone debt crisis...
The sentiment drop clouds the outlook for the important consumer sector which accounts for the bulk of U.S. economic activity. Earlier Friday, the government reported household spending was flat in May....
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Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/29/consumers-become-more-pessimistic/
Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
42 Straight Months of Stupidly Optimistic Official Predictions About Economic Recovery
From Reason.com:
Once-a-month quotes from the Obama administration and the media about how the economy will be booming any minute now:
Washington economic experts have been proclaiming that economic recovery is right around the corner since before they were sure the patient was sick.
For those of us who have been saying all along that none of the economic interventions since 2007 would revive the economy—
not the rescue of Bear Stearns and other financial institutions; not the Troubled Asset Relief Program; not the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; not Quantitative Easings I, II, and III; not the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; not Cash for Clunkers or Solyndra or the bailouts of Chrysler and General Motors—
the cavalcade of wrongheaded, fantastical economic analysis coming out of official Washington and its media in recent years would be hilarious if it were not so infuriating.
The granddaddy of these economic inanities is Federal Reserve Bank chairman Ben Bernanke's March 2009 declaration that he could see economic "green shoots":
"I think as those green shoots begin to appear in different markets and as some confidence begins to come back, that will begin the positive dynamic that brings our economy back."
Copy and paste this link for all 42 quotes:
http://reason.com/archives/2012/06/27/economic-recovery-stupid-predictions
Once-a-month quotes from the Obama administration and the media about how the economy will be booming any minute now:
Washington economic experts have been proclaiming that economic recovery is right around the corner since before they were sure the patient was sick.
For those of us who have been saying all along that none of the economic interventions since 2007 would revive the economy—
not the rescue of Bear Stearns and other financial institutions; not the Troubled Asset Relief Program; not the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; not Quantitative Easings I, II, and III; not the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; not Cash for Clunkers or Solyndra or the bailouts of Chrysler and General Motors—
the cavalcade of wrongheaded, fantastical economic analysis coming out of official Washington and its media in recent years would be hilarious if it were not so infuriating.
The granddaddy of these economic inanities is Federal Reserve Bank chairman Ben Bernanke's March 2009 declaration that he could see economic "green shoots":
"I think as those green shoots begin to appear in different markets and as some confidence begins to come back, that will begin the positive dynamic that brings our economy back."
Copy and paste this link for all 42 quotes:
http://reason.com/archives/2012/06/27/economic-recovery-stupid-predictions
Monday, June 25, 2012
Treasury Yields Could Hit 1% by Year End
From CNBC:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields will hit 1 percent by the end of the year, as the so-called "fiscal cliff" has investors running to the safety of government debt, several market watchers told CNBC on Monday.
Gerard Minack, Asset Manager at Morgan Stanley, got the bearish ball rolling on CNBC Asia's "Squawk Box." He said investor anxiety about the tax increases and spending cuts which will happen at the start of next year, could be the catalyst for a U.S. recession and a fresh plunge in yields.
"We know exactly when the next U.S. recession is going to start. It'll start January 1, 2013," said Minack. "We see a very small window from ... (election day) to December 31 to sort that mess out. It's going to make last year's debt ceiling debate look like a walk in the park."
The debt-ceiling debate was a major risk event in the U.S. last year which triggered a plunge in stock markets....
---------------
Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47942700
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields will hit 1 percent by the end of the year, as the so-called "fiscal cliff" has investors running to the safety of government debt, several market watchers told CNBC on Monday.
Gerard Minack, Asset Manager at Morgan Stanley, got the bearish ball rolling on CNBC Asia's "Squawk Box." He said investor anxiety about the tax increases and spending cuts which will happen at the start of next year, could be the catalyst for a U.S. recession and a fresh plunge in yields.
"We know exactly when the next U.S. recession is going to start. It'll start January 1, 2013," said Minack. "We see a very small window from ... (election day) to December 31 to sort that mess out. It's going to make last year's debt ceiling debate look like a walk in the park."
The debt-ceiling debate was a major risk event in the U.S. last year which triggered a plunge in stock markets....
---------------
Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47942700
Saturday, June 23, 2012
For Middle-Aged Job Seekers, a Long Road Back
From the Wall Street Journal online:
...Much of the attention during the prolonged U.S. employment crisis has been on high rates of joblessness among young people.
Less noticed, but no less significant to many economists, has been the plight of the middle-aged.
More than 3.5 million Americans between the ages of 45 and 64 were unemployed as of May, 39% of them for a year or more—a rate of long-term unemployment that is unprecedented in modern U.S. history, and far higher than among younger workers. Millions more have quit looking for work or ... have taken part-time jobs to get by.
"I try not to think that this is the end and I'm just going to have to shut everything down," Mr. Daniel says. "My mind doesn't work that way. I think that if I can get up I'll find something. I've got to keep moving."
The two decades between 40 and 60 are meant to be workers' prime years for earning and building wealth, the period when they buy homes, send children to college and save for retirement.
Unemployment, especially for an extended period, can short-circuit that process. The effect can span generations, because middle-age workers are more likely to be supporting retired parents, sending their children to college or supporting adult children.
Part of what set the most recent recession apart from the milder downturns of the 1990s and early 2000s, argues Steven Davis, an economist at the University of Chicago, is that this recession didn't primarily strike young workers, or those with erratic work histories. It also hit productive, steady workers in the prime of their careers—people who are ordinarily the backbone of the economy.
In the 1990s, the unemployment rate among 45- to 64-year-olds peaked at 5.7%. In the brutal downturn of the 1980s, that jobless rate barely topped 7%. This time, it topped out at 8.2%....
----------------
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303506404577448751320412974.html
...Much of the attention during the prolonged U.S. employment crisis has been on high rates of joblessness among young people.
Less noticed, but no less significant to many economists, has been the plight of the middle-aged.
More than 3.5 million Americans between the ages of 45 and 64 were unemployed as of May, 39% of them for a year or more—a rate of long-term unemployment that is unprecedented in modern U.S. history, and far higher than among younger workers. Millions more have quit looking for work or ... have taken part-time jobs to get by.
"I try not to think that this is the end and I'm just going to have to shut everything down," Mr. Daniel says. "My mind doesn't work that way. I think that if I can get up I'll find something. I've got to keep moving."
The two decades between 40 and 60 are meant to be workers' prime years for earning and building wealth, the period when they buy homes, send children to college and save for retirement.
Unemployment, especially for an extended period, can short-circuit that process. The effect can span generations, because middle-age workers are more likely to be supporting retired parents, sending their children to college or supporting adult children.
Part of what set the most recent recession apart from the milder downturns of the 1990s and early 2000s, argues Steven Davis, an economist at the University of Chicago, is that this recession didn't primarily strike young workers, or those with erratic work histories. It also hit productive, steady workers in the prime of their careers—people who are ordinarily the backbone of the economy.
In the 1990s, the unemployment rate among 45- to 64-year-olds peaked at 5.7%. In the brutal downturn of the 1980s, that jobless rate barely topped 7%. This time, it topped out at 8.2%....
----------------
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303506404577448751320412974.html
Get used to your crummy shopping center
From MarketWatch.com:
If there’s a crummy shopping center in your neighborhood, it will probably only get crummier....
“How many times have you passed something in your own neighborhood and asked ‘why don’t they do something about that eyesore?’” Don Wood [chief executive officer of Federal Realty Investment Trust] said ... on Wednesday. “Why do things stay crummy year in and year out, and why will they stay crummy year in and year out?”
The nation is increasingly dotted with unsightly boxes that used to be Circuit City, Borders and Best Buy stores. Nobody has written a book called “101 Uses For A Used Blockbuster.” And there are only so many churches, tanning salons and “We Buy Gold” stores to fill these deteriorating spaces...
“Redevelopment is more likely to happen in places that don’t really need it,” said Wood. “In places that are great already.”
Nevertheless, almost every city official in the nation wants to turn their local retail blights into lovely mixed-use monoliths with fancy stores and restaurants on ground floors and pricey lofts and condos upstairs.
This simply isn’t going to work without a high density of upper-income households, Wood said, and in places where it will work, the development process takes years....
-------------
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/get-used-to-your-crummy-shopping-center-2012-06-22
If there’s a crummy shopping center in your neighborhood, it will probably only get crummier....
“How many times have you passed something in your own neighborhood and asked ‘why don’t they do something about that eyesore?’” Don Wood [chief executive officer of Federal Realty Investment Trust] said ... on Wednesday. “Why do things stay crummy year in and year out, and why will they stay crummy year in and year out?”
The nation is increasingly dotted with unsightly boxes that used to be Circuit City, Borders and Best Buy stores. Nobody has written a book called “101 Uses For A Used Blockbuster.” And there are only so many churches, tanning salons and “We Buy Gold” stores to fill these deteriorating spaces...
“Redevelopment is more likely to happen in places that don’t really need it,” said Wood. “In places that are great already.”
Nevertheless, almost every city official in the nation wants to turn their local retail blights into lovely mixed-use monoliths with fancy stores and restaurants on ground floors and pricey lofts and condos upstairs.
This simply isn’t going to work without a high density of upper-income households, Wood said, and in places where it will work, the development process takes years....
-------------
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/get-used-to-your-crummy-shopping-center-2012-06-22
Friday, June 22, 2012
Jobs Get Posted, Few Get Filled
From today's WSJ.com:
...Now the recovery appears to be faltering again, giving companies even less incentive to hire. That could spell further trouble for job growth in months ahead, especially if companies go back to slashing payrolls.
There are signs this already is happening. Private employers laid off 71,000 more workers in April than the month before. New claims for jobless benefits, which had been falling steadily since last fall, have trended upward in recent weeks.... the four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility, reached its highest level last week since December.
Such a relatively modest uptick in layoffs wouldn't matter much if healthy companies were stepping up the pace at which they were adding jobs. But the recovery's repeated starts and stops have left even growing companies nervous about hiring too quickly—a caution that has only increased as Europe's debt crisis has raised the risk of a new global slowdown....
The collapse of the labor market in 2008 and 2009 stemmed from both a plunge in hiring and a surge in layoffs. Before the recession, private companies generally hired close to five million workers a month, a figure that dropped as low as 3.4 million in the depths of the recession. Monthly layoffs and firings, meanwhile, rose from about 1.7 million to a peak of nearly 2.5 million in early 2009....
There are signs of hope for the unemployed. Job openings have been steadily rising since the recession ended, though openings fell slightly in April. Historically, vacant positions have translated into increased hiring in the coming months.
So far, however, that hasn't happened. Many companies say they are filling positions slowly in part because they can't find the workers they need....
But many experts say that companies' complaints mask the real issue: They are in no hurry to hire when the economy is on such shaky ground. A recent study by Mr. Faberman and a Chicago Fed colleague found that a mismatch between workers' skills and employers' needs played a relatively small role in explaining the slow rate of hiring. Meanwhile, a separate measure of "recruiting intensity"—how hard companies are trying to fill jobs—shows that even as companies have posted more jobs, they haven't stepped up their efforts to fill them....
---------------------
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304441404577480771351072052.html
...Now the recovery appears to be faltering again, giving companies even less incentive to hire. That could spell further trouble for job growth in months ahead, especially if companies go back to slashing payrolls.
There are signs this already is happening. Private employers laid off 71,000 more workers in April than the month before. New claims for jobless benefits, which had been falling steadily since last fall, have trended upward in recent weeks.... the four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility, reached its highest level last week since December.
Such a relatively modest uptick in layoffs wouldn't matter much if healthy companies were stepping up the pace at which they were adding jobs. But the recovery's repeated starts and stops have left even growing companies nervous about hiring too quickly—a caution that has only increased as Europe's debt crisis has raised the risk of a new global slowdown....
The collapse of the labor market in 2008 and 2009 stemmed from both a plunge in hiring and a surge in layoffs. Before the recession, private companies generally hired close to five million workers a month, a figure that dropped as low as 3.4 million in the depths of the recession. Monthly layoffs and firings, meanwhile, rose from about 1.7 million to a peak of nearly 2.5 million in early 2009....
There are signs of hope for the unemployed. Job openings have been steadily rising since the recession ended, though openings fell slightly in April. Historically, vacant positions have translated into increased hiring in the coming months.
So far, however, that hasn't happened. Many companies say they are filling positions slowly in part because they can't find the workers they need....
But many experts say that companies' complaints mask the real issue: They are in no hurry to hire when the economy is on such shaky ground. A recent study by Mr. Faberman and a Chicago Fed colleague found that a mismatch between workers' skills and employers' needs played a relatively small role in explaining the slow rate of hiring. Meanwhile, a separate measure of "recruiting intensity"—how hard companies are trying to fill jobs—shows that even as companies have posted more jobs, they haven't stepped up their efforts to fill them....
---------------------
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304441404577480771351072052.html
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Up to 95 Million Low-Skill Workers in Danger of Being Left Behind
From the WSJ.com:
Between 90 and 95 million low-skill workers around the world could be without jobs by 2020 because there simply won’t be enough positions available for them to apply for, according to a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute.
The report said both the private and public sector should make a “concerted” effort to alleviate this and that if little is done, those low-skill workers could be doomed to long-term joblessness.
“If we don’t up the efforts we make to increase the skills of the labor force and at the same time create jobs for low-skilled people at a much higher pace, we’re going to face a world where we’re going to have a long-term group of unemployed people with all of the social costs that that brings,” said McKinsey Global Institute director Richard Dobbs...
------------------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/21/up-to-95-million-low-skill-workers-in-danger-of-being-left-behind/?
Between 90 and 95 million low-skill workers around the world could be without jobs by 2020 because there simply won’t be enough positions available for them to apply for, according to a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute.
The report said both the private and public sector should make a “concerted” effort to alleviate this and that if little is done, those low-skill workers could be doomed to long-term joblessness.
“If we don’t up the efforts we make to increase the skills of the labor force and at the same time create jobs for low-skilled people at a much higher pace, we’re going to face a world where we’re going to have a long-term group of unemployed people with all of the social costs that that brings,” said McKinsey Global Institute director Richard Dobbs...
------------------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/21/up-to-95-million-low-skill-workers-in-danger-of-being-left-behind/?
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Fed sharply lowers forecast for 2012
From the Associated Press:
The Federal Reserve has sharply lowered its outlook for U.S. economic growth and thinks the unemployment rate won't fall much further this year.
...the Fed (now) says it expects the economy will grow no more than 2.4 percent this year. That's much slower than its forecast in April, when it predicted growth as fast as 2.9 percent. And it isn't much better than the 1.9 percent annual pace of growth in the first three months of 2012....
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits has risen about 5 percent in the past six weeks. And employers posted sharply fewer job openings in April compared to the previous month.
...consumers have pulled back on spending. Retail sales have fallen for the past two months....
Businesses also appear less confident about the economy... placing fewer orders at factories, which has slowed manufacturing output. A measure of companies' investment spending has dropped for two straight months.
------------
Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FED_FORECASTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-06-20-14-26-15
The Federal Reserve has sharply lowered its outlook for U.S. economic growth and thinks the unemployment rate won't fall much further this year.
...the Fed (now) says it expects the economy will grow no more than 2.4 percent this year. That's much slower than its forecast in April, when it predicted growth as fast as 2.9 percent. And it isn't much better than the 1.9 percent annual pace of growth in the first three months of 2012....
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits has risen about 5 percent in the past six weeks. And employers posted sharply fewer job openings in April compared to the previous month.
...consumers have pulled back on spending. Retail sales have fallen for the past two months....
Businesses also appear less confident about the economy... placing fewer orders at factories, which has slowed manufacturing output. A measure of companies' investment spending has dropped for two straight months.
------------
Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FED_FORECASTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-06-20-14-26-15
Monday, June 18, 2012
Sad summer in the city for job-hunting teens
From Reuters:
Job-hunting teenagers in cities across the United States face the third bleak summer in a row. They must compete for scarce slots in scaled-back government work programs and against adults forced into low-paying positions by the unemployment crisis.
The harsh summer job market for teens is compounded by this: The country has recovered only half the jobs lost from December 2007 through June 2009, the worst recession in 70 years.
Teens - often the last hired and first fired - suffered the toughest summers on the job front since World War II in 2010 and 2011. This summer, the outlook is chilly - again.
In April, the U.S. unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds was 24.9 percent - and much higher in some major metropolitan areas....
---------------
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/18/us-usa-cities-teens-idUSBRE85F0B020120618?
Job-hunting teenagers in cities across the United States face the third bleak summer in a row. They must compete for scarce slots in scaled-back government work programs and against adults forced into low-paying positions by the unemployment crisis.
The harsh summer job market for teens is compounded by this: The country has recovered only half the jobs lost from December 2007 through June 2009, the worst recession in 70 years.
Teens - often the last hired and first fired - suffered the toughest summers on the job front since World War II in 2010 and 2011. This summer, the outlook is chilly - again.
In April, the U.S. unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds was 24.9 percent - and much higher in some major metropolitan areas....
---------------
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/18/us-usa-cities-teens-idUSBRE85F0B020120618?
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Desperate Greeks Withdraw Money from Accounts
From Spiegel online:
Many Greeks are emptying their bank accounts out of fear that the country may return to the drachma. But most of the money is not going abroad. Instead, individuals are storing cash in safe deposit boxes or at home -- leading to an increase in burglaries....
---------------
Link: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/greeks-emptying-bank-accounts-a-839160.html
Many Greeks are emptying their bank accounts out of fear that the country may return to the drachma. But most of the money is not going abroad. Instead, individuals are storing cash in safe deposit boxes or at home -- leading to an increase in burglaries....
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Link: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/greeks-emptying-bank-accounts-a-839160.html
Thursday, June 14, 2012
U.S. weekly jobless claims: 386,000; Applications for unemployment rise 5th time in 6 weeks
From MarketWatch.com:
The number of people who applied for jobless benefits last week rose again ... in another sign that the U.S. labor market has cooled off.
Jobless claims climbed by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000 in the week ended June 9, the Labor Department said. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 380,000 from an original reading of 377,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level....
The weaker pace of job creation has been reflected in the monthly employment report, a more accurate calculation of whether companies are hiring. The U.S. unemployment rate rose in May to 8.2%, its first increase in nearly a year....
---------
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-weekly-jobless-claims-climb-to-386000-2012-06-14
The number of people who applied for jobless benefits last week rose again ... in another sign that the U.S. labor market has cooled off.
Jobless claims climbed by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000 in the week ended June 9, the Labor Department said. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 380,000 from an original reading of 377,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level....
The weaker pace of job creation has been reflected in the monthly employment report, a more accurate calculation of whether companies are hiring. The U.S. unemployment rate rose in May to 8.2%, its first increase in nearly a year....
---------
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-weekly-jobless-claims-climb-to-386000-2012-06-14
Obama's United Auto Workers Bailout
From the WSJ.com:
If the administration treated the UAW in the manner required by bankruptcy law, it could have saved U.S. taxpayers $26.5 billion....
The preferential treatment given to the United Auto Workers accounts for the American taxpayers' entire losses from the bailout. Had the UAW received normal treatment in standard bankruptcy proceedings, the Treasury would have recouped its entire investment. Three irregularities in the bankruptcy case resulted in a windfall to the UAW.
--------------------
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303768104577462650268680454.html
If the administration treated the UAW in the manner required by bankruptcy law, it could have saved U.S. taxpayers $26.5 billion....
The preferential treatment given to the United Auto Workers accounts for the American taxpayers' entire losses from the bailout. Had the UAW received normal treatment in standard bankruptcy proceedings, the Treasury would have recouped its entire investment. Three irregularities in the bankruptcy case resulted in a windfall to the UAW.
--------------------
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303768104577462650268680454.html
Foreclosures up for first time in 27 months
From Reuters:
Foreclosure starts rose year-over-year in May for the first time in more than two years - though they fell on a month-to-month basis - as banks resumed dealing with distressed properties after a mortgage abuse settlement earlier this year, data firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
The $25 billion settlement between major banks and states, formally approved in April, had been expected to jump-start foreclosure proceedings that were previously stalled by uncertainty about the liability of banks....
By moving houses out of the so-called "shadow inventory" and onto the market, the increase in foreclosures could be a drag on the fragile U.S. housing recovery.
-----------
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/us-usa-housing-realtytrac-idUSBRE85D05P20120614
Foreclosure starts rose year-over-year in May for the first time in more than two years - though they fell on a month-to-month basis - as banks resumed dealing with distressed properties after a mortgage abuse settlement earlier this year, data firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
The $25 billion settlement between major banks and states, formally approved in April, had been expected to jump-start foreclosure proceedings that were previously stalled by uncertainty about the liability of banks....
By moving houses out of the so-called "shadow inventory" and onto the market, the increase in foreclosures could be a drag on the fragile U.S. housing recovery.
-----------
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/us-usa-housing-realtytrac-idUSBRE85D05P20120614
Nokia to cut 10,000 jobs after weak 2nd quarter
From Reuters.com:
Loss-making Finnish cellphone maker Nokia plans to cut another 10,000 jobs globally in its biggest revamp in recent history, while it warned the second-quarter loss from its cellphone business would be larger than expected.
The cuts, which include the closure of Nokia's only plant in Finland, bring total planned job cuts at the group since ... 2010 to more than 40,000.
-----------
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/us-nokia-restructuring-jobs-idUSBRE85D09K20120614
Loss-making Finnish cellphone maker Nokia plans to cut another 10,000 jobs globally in its biggest revamp in recent history, while it warned the second-quarter loss from its cellphone business would be larger than expected.
The cuts, which include the closure of Nokia's only plant in Finland, bring total planned job cuts at the group since ... 2010 to more than 40,000.
-----------
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/us-nokia-restructuring-jobs-idUSBRE85D09K20120614
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The Fed is Killing S&Ls, and Why You Should Care
From CNBC:
Savings and loans ... finally may have met their maker, and that could be a bad thing for consumers.
Last week's Federal Reserve announcement that S&Ls would have to increase their capital requirements could doom an industry that has been able to thrive largely on its ability to lend large amounts of money, primarily through mortgages, while keeping relatively low capital.
The changes are part of the new regulatory landscape that has come about in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
While the good news is that mega-failures like Washington Mutual, which was sold to JPMorgan Chase during the crisis, are taken out of play, the bad news is that consumers may feel the pain of mortgage rates that start rising off record lows....
"Bank mortgage lenders will need to carry higher capital against mortgage loans, demanding higher returns," KBW continued. "Higher capital requirements will not support the revitalization of the thrift industry, in our opinion, and as a result the industry will continue to fade away."
The result, KBW says, is that a reduction in competition will allow institutions in the mortgage business to charge higher rates to consumers....
KBW asserts this could open up a big gap in the mortgage business, reducing competition and providing opportunities for investors. Mortgage-based real estate investment trusts could benefit in particular, KBW said.
But for consumers, the likely consequence will be higher mortgage costs as there is less competition in the industry, thus allowing room to raise rates, particularly on adjustable-rate loans.
"The financial metrics that allowed thrifts to be profitable — high loan-to-deposit ratios, low expenses, and high leverage — are no longer possible," KBW said. "The loss of the thrift industry has broad implications for mortgage finance in the future."
---------------
Link: http://www.cnbc.com//id/47766439
Savings and loans ... finally may have met their maker, and that could be a bad thing for consumers.
Last week's Federal Reserve announcement that S&Ls would have to increase their capital requirements could doom an industry that has been able to thrive largely on its ability to lend large amounts of money, primarily through mortgages, while keeping relatively low capital.
The changes are part of the new regulatory landscape that has come about in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
While the good news is that mega-failures like Washington Mutual, which was sold to JPMorgan Chase during the crisis, are taken out of play, the bad news is that consumers may feel the pain of mortgage rates that start rising off record lows....
"Bank mortgage lenders will need to carry higher capital against mortgage loans, demanding higher returns," KBW continued. "Higher capital requirements will not support the revitalization of the thrift industry, in our opinion, and as a result the industry will continue to fade away."
The result, KBW says, is that a reduction in competition will allow institutions in the mortgage business to charge higher rates to consumers....
KBW asserts this could open up a big gap in the mortgage business, reducing competition and providing opportunities for investors. Mortgage-based real estate investment trusts could benefit in particular, KBW said.
But for consumers, the likely consequence will be higher mortgage costs as there is less competition in the industry, thus allowing room to raise rates, particularly on adjustable-rate loans.
"The financial metrics that allowed thrifts to be profitable — high loan-to-deposit ratios, low expenses, and high leverage — are no longer possible," KBW said. "The loss of the thrift industry has broad implications for mortgage finance in the future."
---------------
Link: http://www.cnbc.com//id/47766439
Monday, June 11, 2012
Who didn't know this? Family Net Worth fell 40% between 2007-2010
From the WSJ.com:
Families’ median net worth fell almost 40% between 2007 and 2010, down to levels last seen in 1992, the Federal Reserve said in a report Monday.
As the U.S. economy roiled for three tumultuous years, families saw corresponding drops in their income and net wealth, according to the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances, a detailed snapshot of household finances conducted every three years.
Median net worth of families fell to $77,300 in 2010 from $126,400 in 2007, a drop of 38.8%–the largest drop since the current survey began in 1989, Fed economists said Monday. Net worth represents the difference between a family’s gross assets and its liabilities. Average net worth fell 14.7% during the same three-year period.
Much of that drop was driven by the housing market’s collapse. Families whose assets were tied up more in housing saw their net worth decline by more. Among families that owned homes, their median home equity declined to $75,000 in 2010, down from $110,000 three years earlier.
Between 2007 and 2010, incomes also dropped sharply. In 2010, median family income fell to $45,800 from $49,600 in 2007, a drop of 7.7%. Average income fell 11.1% to $78,500, down from $88,300. That was a departure from earlier in the decade. During the preceding three years, median income had been constant, while the mean had climbed 8.5%.
-------------------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/11/family-net-worth-fell-almost-40-between-2007-2010/
Families’ median net worth fell almost 40% between 2007 and 2010, down to levels last seen in 1992, the Federal Reserve said in a report Monday.
As the U.S. economy roiled for three tumultuous years, families saw corresponding drops in their income and net wealth, according to the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances, a detailed snapshot of household finances conducted every three years.
Median net worth of families fell to $77,300 in 2010 from $126,400 in 2007, a drop of 38.8%–the largest drop since the current survey began in 1989, Fed economists said Monday. Net worth represents the difference between a family’s gross assets and its liabilities. Average net worth fell 14.7% during the same three-year period.
Much of that drop was driven by the housing market’s collapse. Families whose assets were tied up more in housing saw their net worth decline by more. Among families that owned homes, their median home equity declined to $75,000 in 2010, down from $110,000 three years earlier.
Between 2007 and 2010, incomes also dropped sharply. In 2010, median family income fell to $45,800 from $49,600 in 2007, a drop of 7.7%. Average income fell 11.1% to $78,500, down from $88,300. That was a departure from earlier in the decade. During the preceding three years, median income had been constant, while the mean had climbed 8.5%.
-------------------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/11/family-net-worth-fell-almost-40-between-2007-2010/
Economy takes toll on older workers
From the Detroit News online:
The Great Recession of 2007-09 didn't spare anyone, but no group is more vulnerable to the downturn's lingering effects than older workers who've lost their jobs.
They have fewer years than younger people to shore up tattered savings plans, and they're finding it much harder to land new jobs.
Nationwide, more than a third of job-seekers 55 and older have been out of work for more than a year. The majority have been out of work for six months or longer, according to the U.S. GAO....
According to the GAO, the proportion of older U.S. job-seekers out of work for six months or longer has more than doubled, to 55 percent in five years. In the U.S. manufacturing sector, 63 percent of older unemployed people have been looking for work for 27 months or longer...
--------------------
Link: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120611/BIZ01/206110348/Economy-takes-toll-older-workers
(We highlighted similar stories on May 18 and May 30, links to the right.)
The Great Recession of 2007-09 didn't spare anyone, but no group is more vulnerable to the downturn's lingering effects than older workers who've lost their jobs.
They have fewer years than younger people to shore up tattered savings plans, and they're finding it much harder to land new jobs.
Nationwide, more than a third of job-seekers 55 and older have been out of work for more than a year. The majority have been out of work for six months or longer, according to the U.S. GAO....
According to the GAO, the proportion of older U.S. job-seekers out of work for six months or longer has more than doubled, to 55 percent in five years. In the U.S. manufacturing sector, 63 percent of older unemployed people have been looking for work for 27 months or longer...
--------------------
Link: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120611/BIZ01/206110348/Economy-takes-toll-older-workers
(We highlighted similar stories on May 18 and May 30, links to the right.)
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Forget 'Fear Factor': Banks, Market Set to Soar
Comments from bank analyst Dick Bove on CNBC:
Bank stocks are offering compelling value—while the broader market is poised for substantial gains ahead, said analyst Dick Bove, who believes investors are too caught up in the "fear factor...."
That pesky euro zone debt crisis? It needs only to be removed from investors' consciousness for the market to get roaring again, he said.
"The fundamentals of the industry have never been better. It is only the unknown, unquantifiable, contagion risk which is keeping these stocks down," Bove said in a nearly euphoric note to clients. "Take this issue away and investors may realize that banks are massively oversold relative to the power of their balance sheets and their earnings potential...."
Trouble in Greece and elsewhere, Bove has long contended, will only strengthen American banks, which will get the business that European institutions lose....
Bove, in fact, says the U.S. will thrive in spite of itself and its many policy missteps.
"The United States may be in a 1969 to 1982 economy at present; it may be doing everything it can to pull down a very successful system," he said. "But once the European economies are stabilized, animal spirits will re-emerge in this country and the funds necessary for growth will pour out from every corner."
----------------
Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47723931
Bank stocks are offering compelling value—while the broader market is poised for substantial gains ahead, said analyst Dick Bove, who believes investors are too caught up in the "fear factor...."
That pesky euro zone debt crisis? It needs only to be removed from investors' consciousness for the market to get roaring again, he said.
"The fundamentals of the industry have never been better. It is only the unknown, unquantifiable, contagion risk which is keeping these stocks down," Bove said in a nearly euphoric note to clients. "Take this issue away and investors may realize that banks are massively oversold relative to the power of their balance sheets and their earnings potential...."
Trouble in Greece and elsewhere, Bove has long contended, will only strengthen American banks, which will get the business that European institutions lose....
Bove, in fact, says the U.S. will thrive in spite of itself and its many policy missteps.
"The United States may be in a 1969 to 1982 economy at present; it may be doing everything it can to pull down a very successful system," he said. "But once the European economies are stabilized, animal spirits will re-emerge in this country and the funds necessary for growth will pour out from every corner."
----------------
Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47723931
Gallup: U.S. Investors See Trade-Offs With Low Interest Rates
From Gallup.com:
Nearly two in three investors (63%) say they think policymakers should take into account the harm low interest rates do to older Americans when they seek to keep interest rates low for an extended period of time. This includes 61% of nonretirees and 68% of retirees. Low rates tend to be more of an issue for retirees, given their greater dependence on low-risk investments for their retirement income....
More than three in 10 investors say they fear outliving their retirement savings (42%), that they expect to live or are living less comfortably in retirement (38%), that they are forced to delay their retirement (33%), or are saving less for retirement (31%). The only non-retirement concern above the 30% level is giving less money to charity (35%).
------------------
Link: http://www.gallup.com/poll/155096/Investors-Trade-Offs-Low-Interest-Rates.aspx
Nearly two in three investors (63%) say they think policymakers should take into account the harm low interest rates do to older Americans when they seek to keep interest rates low for an extended period of time. This includes 61% of nonretirees and 68% of retirees. Low rates tend to be more of an issue for retirees, given their greater dependence on low-risk investments for their retirement income....
More than three in 10 investors say they fear outliving their retirement savings (42%), that they expect to live or are living less comfortably in retirement (38%), that they are forced to delay their retirement (33%), or are saving less for retirement (31%). The only non-retirement concern above the 30% level is giving less money to charity (35%).
------------------
Link: http://www.gallup.com/poll/155096/Investors-Trade-Offs-Low-Interest-Rates.aspx
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Remember Those Oil Speculators?
From ThinkMarkets, a blog from NYU:
Less than two months ago, President Obama claimed that speculators were ... artificially driving up the price of oil—a notion that some politician or pundit brings up every time gasoline looks expensive. The idea fades when the market changes direction. Thus in recent weeks, economies worldwide took a turn for the worse and the price of oil came down a notch....
(Yesterday's national average gas price per gallon: $3.565; see AAA's www.fuelgagereport.aaa.com)
“We can’t afford a situation where speculators artificially manipulate markets by buying up oil, creating the perception of a shortage, and driving prices higher–only to flip the oil for a quick profit,” the President said at that time. The extra budget he requested was for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to monitor the market.
How would a regulator know that someone bought oil futures to create “the perception of a shortage” rather than simply to benefit from an expected price movement? The action of buying is the same whether you expect the price to go up or you want to push it up. There is no way to distinguish one motive from the other by watching the trades.
The fact is, this does not matter. The point of the regulatory initiative was to send the public a message that something is being done. That the policy is incoherent is beside the point. The purpose was for Mr. Obama to make a political statement; the effect on markets is likely minimal anyway....
The price of gasoline is only one example of the broader problem of political-regulatory ratcheting up. With oil, the political issue is its being expensive, so traders get the blame for driving the price higher, not lower—
as the price heads down, we have not been told that speculators are manipulating the market downward.
By contrast in stock markets traders are often blamed for falling prices. Thus in the financial crisis, banks complained of short sellers driving down their share price. Thereupon the US Securities and Exchange Commission banned the short selling of financial stocks.
So depending on what the political agenda of the day is, speculators can be taken to task for either a high price or a low price.
Either way, the political mood tends to be ephemeral but the regulation it helps create stays on and we all bear the costs.
What we need is a waiting period for all regulatory proposals—say five years. Each proposal should be considered only after its waiting period is up, if it does not sound silly by then.
-----------------
Link: http://thinkmarkets.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/remember-those-oil-speculators/
Less than two months ago, President Obama claimed that speculators were ... artificially driving up the price of oil—a notion that some politician or pundit brings up every time gasoline looks expensive. The idea fades when the market changes direction. Thus in recent weeks, economies worldwide took a turn for the worse and the price of oil came down a notch....
(Yesterday's national average gas price per gallon: $3.565; see AAA's www.fuelgagereport.aaa.com)
“We can’t afford a situation where speculators artificially manipulate markets by buying up oil, creating the perception of a shortage, and driving prices higher–only to flip the oil for a quick profit,” the President said at that time. The extra budget he requested was for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to monitor the market.
How would a regulator know that someone bought oil futures to create “the perception of a shortage” rather than simply to benefit from an expected price movement? The action of buying is the same whether you expect the price to go up or you want to push it up. There is no way to distinguish one motive from the other by watching the trades.
The fact is, this does not matter. The point of the regulatory initiative was to send the public a message that something is being done. That the policy is incoherent is beside the point. The purpose was for Mr. Obama to make a political statement; the effect on markets is likely minimal anyway....
The price of gasoline is only one example of the broader problem of political-regulatory ratcheting up. With oil, the political issue is its being expensive, so traders get the blame for driving the price higher, not lower—
as the price heads down, we have not been told that speculators are manipulating the market downward.
By contrast in stock markets traders are often blamed for falling prices. Thus in the financial crisis, banks complained of short sellers driving down their share price. Thereupon the US Securities and Exchange Commission banned the short selling of financial stocks.
So depending on what the political agenda of the day is, speculators can be taken to task for either a high price or a low price.
Either way, the political mood tends to be ephemeral but the regulation it helps create stays on and we all bear the costs.
What we need is a waiting period for all regulatory proposals—say five years. Each proposal should be considered only after its waiting period is up, if it does not sound silly by then.
-----------------
Link: http://thinkmarkets.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/remember-those-oil-speculators/
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
New Hires Getting Left Behind on Pay
From the Real Time Economics blog at WSJ.com:
The weak pace of hiring in May cast a big cloud on the future of consumer spending. But the outlook dims more when you consider even those fortunate to get jobs are generally earning less than the average worker.
Economists ... found that new-hire pay is starting to lag behind that of embedded workers...
It also suggests that, with so many job-seekers in the labor markets, businesses are able to offer lower starting salaries for higher-skilled, professional jobs.
Slower income growth will limit future gains in consumer spending, which remains the main engine of growth in the U.S. economy....
The pay gap is another example of how the Great Recession has split the consumer sector. Even if they are now back at work, people who lost their jobs over the past few years have fallen further behind workers who stayed employed.
Worse still, in the long run, few of the left-behind workers make up the lost ground, putting consumer spending, home-buying and tax collections at risk. Each percentage-based pay raise will give them a smaller dollar amount than the average worker. So, not only do the new workers not catch up, the pay gap can widen over time.
----------------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/05/new-hires-getting-left-behind-on-pay/
The weak pace of hiring in May cast a big cloud on the future of consumer spending. But the outlook dims more when you consider even those fortunate to get jobs are generally earning less than the average worker.
Economists ... found that new-hire pay is starting to lag behind that of embedded workers...
It also suggests that, with so many job-seekers in the labor markets, businesses are able to offer lower starting salaries for higher-skilled, professional jobs.
Slower income growth will limit future gains in consumer spending, which remains the main engine of growth in the U.S. economy....
The pay gap is another example of how the Great Recession has split the consumer sector. Even if they are now back at work, people who lost their jobs over the past few years have fallen further behind workers who stayed employed.
Worse still, in the long run, few of the left-behind workers make up the lost ground, putting consumer spending, home-buying and tax collections at risk. Each percentage-based pay raise will give them a smaller dollar amount than the average worker. So, not only do the new workers not catch up, the pay gap can widen over time.
----------------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/05/new-hires-getting-left-behind-on-pay/
Monday, June 4, 2012
Ultra-Wealthy Are Shunning Stocks
From Robert Frank writing at CNBC.com:
Wealthy investors are shying away from U.S. stocks and putting more money into private companies, real estate and commodities, according to a study.
The Institute for Private Investors ... polled families with at least $30 million in investable assets. IPI found that the wealthy are shifting away from U.S. stocks in the search of safety and yield....
According to IPI, the moves are part of a broader shift, with the wealthy looking for hard assets rather than more speculative financial investments. “We are seeing a general movement toward owning real assets, and backing companies with real businesses, including startups..."
Should everyday investors follow the lead of the $30-million-plus crowd?
Not necessarily. Buying a private company, for instance, isn’t in the cards for most investors saving for retirement. Acquiring a business often requires millions of dollars in capital....
What’s more, wealthy investors haven’t always been right when it comes to the stock market. Some studies show they were late getting out of the market pre-2008, and late coming back in before the rebound in 2009.
But there is one reason we should care about the investing patterns of the rich: they set the tone for the broader market. With the one percent owning more than 50 percent of the individually held stocks in the U.S., their lack of confidence in stocks can only make it harder for the market to move higher.
-------------
Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47675207
Wealthy investors are shying away from U.S. stocks and putting more money into private companies, real estate and commodities, according to a study.
The Institute for Private Investors ... polled families with at least $30 million in investable assets. IPI found that the wealthy are shifting away from U.S. stocks in the search of safety and yield....
According to IPI, the moves are part of a broader shift, with the wealthy looking for hard assets rather than more speculative financial investments. “We are seeing a general movement toward owning real assets, and backing companies with real businesses, including startups..."
Should everyday investors follow the lead of the $30-million-plus crowd?
Not necessarily. Buying a private company, for instance, isn’t in the cards for most investors saving for retirement. Acquiring a business often requires millions of dollars in capital....
What’s more, wealthy investors haven’t always been right when it comes to the stock market. Some studies show they were late getting out of the market pre-2008, and late coming back in before the rebound in 2009.
But there is one reason we should care about the investing patterns of the rich: they set the tone for the broader market. With the one percent owning more than 50 percent of the individually held stocks in the U.S., their lack of confidence in stocks can only make it harder for the market to move higher.
-------------
Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47675207
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Most Unemployed Have College Experience
From the WSJ.com:
52%: Percent of the unemployed who have spent at least some time in college.
In a significant shift in the labor market, the majority of people who are unemployed have some college education, reversing the situation that prevailed for decades. In 1992, only 37% of the unemployed had some college experience...
Since it is more likely that a younger worker will have some college experience, older workers retiring or dropping out of the labor force exacerbate the trend. The share of the workforce with a degree has been rising for decades, while the % with a high-school diploma or less has been falling.
For the first time in 2003, the average person in the labor force was more likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher than to be just a high-school graduate...
--------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/02/number-of-the-week-most-unemployed-have-college-experience/
52%: Percent of the unemployed who have spent at least some time in college.
In a significant shift in the labor market, the majority of people who are unemployed have some college education, reversing the situation that prevailed for decades. In 1992, only 37% of the unemployed had some college experience...
Since it is more likely that a younger worker will have some college experience, older workers retiring or dropping out of the labor force exacerbate the trend. The share of the workforce with a degree has been rising for decades, while the % with a high-school diploma or less has been falling.
For the first time in 2003, the average person in the labor force was more likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher than to be just a high-school graduate...
--------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/02/number-of-the-week-most-unemployed-have-college-experience/
Friday, June 1, 2012
Mediocre Job Growth Coming From Wrong Places
From the Real Time Economics blog at the WSJ.com:
Job growth was weak in May. Just as bad: the type of jobs the economy did manage to add....
... the job growth is coming entirely from workers getting part-time jobs. The number of Americans working full-time fell by 266,000 in May, erasing all the gains of the past three months.
The total employment figure only rose because 618,000 more people got part-time jobs. Many of those people would rather be working full-time: The number of people classified as “part time for economic reasons” — meaning they’re working part-time because they can’t find a full-time job — rose by 245,000 to 8.1 million.
---------------------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/01/even-mediocre-job-growth-coming-from-wrong-places/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=marketbeat
Job growth was weak in May. Just as bad: the type of jobs the economy did manage to add....
... the job growth is coming entirely from workers getting part-time jobs. The number of Americans working full-time fell by 266,000 in May, erasing all the gains of the past three months.
The total employment figure only rose because 618,000 more people got part-time jobs. Many of those people would rather be working full-time: The number of people classified as “part time for economic reasons” — meaning they’re working part-time because they can’t find a full-time job — rose by 245,000 to 8.1 million.
---------------------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/06/01/even-mediocre-job-growth-coming-from-wrong-places/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=marketbeat
The War over Class War
From the Economist.com:
Economic misunderstanding, not overblown rhetoric, is the real problem with the president
... the election will revolve not around fairness, but competence. Mr Romney is fond of saying that Mr Obama has no idea how the economy works and how jobs are created. The way the Obama campaign talks about Bain Capital suggests that his criticism is correct.
Mr Obama, as noted above, likes to insinuate that there is a conflict between pursuing profits and creating jobs.
In the long run, however, in a competitive economy, that is nonsense.
Only profitable firms can sustain any jobs, and the more profitable they are, the more money they have to invest in new ventures with new workers.
Mr Obama is guilty not of rhetorical excess but of economic muddle.
That is far more worrying.
----------------
Link: http://www.economist.com/node/21556243
Economic misunderstanding, not overblown rhetoric, is the real problem with the president
... the election will revolve not around fairness, but competence. Mr Romney is fond of saying that Mr Obama has no idea how the economy works and how jobs are created. The way the Obama campaign talks about Bain Capital suggests that his criticism is correct.
Mr Obama, as noted above, likes to insinuate that there is a conflict between pursuing profits and creating jobs.
In the long run, however, in a competitive economy, that is nonsense.
Only profitable firms can sustain any jobs, and the more profitable they are, the more money they have to invest in new ventures with new workers.
Mr Obama is guilty not of rhetorical excess but of economic muddle.
That is far more worrying.
----------------
Link: http://www.economist.com/node/21556243
'Official' Jobless U3 Rate, 8.2%; U6 Rate, 14.8%; Jobless in Europe 11%
----------------
From the NYTimes.com:
The United States economy gained a net 69,000 jobs in May ...
a dismal showing that reflected mounting fears of a global slowdown.
The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in April.
It was the third mediocre performance by the job market in three months, after a period of solid growth over the winter that raised hopes that the recovery was gaining momentum.
(Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/business/economy/us-added-69000-jobs-in-may-jobless-rate-at-8-2.html)
----------------
From CNBC.com:
Labor force participation remains near 30-year lows though incrementally better than last month, rising to 63.8 percent.
The unemployment rate that counts discouraged workers rose as well, swelling to 14.8 percent form 14.5 percent in April.
(Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47643788)
---------------
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics press release:
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.8 percent) and Hispanics (11.0 percent) edged up in May, while the rates for adult women (7.4 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent), whites (7.4 percent), and blacks (13.6 percent) showed little or no change.
(Link: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm)
------------------
From Bloomberg.com:
Euro-Area Unemployment Reaches Record 11%, Led by Spain
Euro-area unemployment reached the highest on record as a deepening economic slump and budget cuts prompted companies from Spain to Italy to reduce their workforces.
The jobless rate in the 17-nation euro zone was at 11 percent in April and March, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That’s the highest since the data series started in 1995. The March figure was revised higher to 11 percent from 10.9 percent estimated earlier.
From the NYTimes.com:
The United States economy gained a net 69,000 jobs in May ...
a dismal showing that reflected mounting fears of a global slowdown.
The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in April.
It was the third mediocre performance by the job market in three months, after a period of solid growth over the winter that raised hopes that the recovery was gaining momentum.
(Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/business/economy/us-added-69000-jobs-in-may-jobless-rate-at-8-2.html)
----------------
From CNBC.com:
Labor force participation remains near 30-year lows though incrementally better than last month, rising to 63.8 percent.
The unemployment rate that counts discouraged workers rose as well, swelling to 14.8 percent form 14.5 percent in April.
(Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47643788)
---------------
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics press release:
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.8 percent) and Hispanics (11.0 percent) edged up in May, while the rates for adult women (7.4 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent), whites (7.4 percent), and blacks (13.6 percent) showed little or no change.
(Link: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm)
------------------
From Bloomberg.com:
Euro-Area Unemployment Reaches Record 11%, Led by Spain
Euro-area unemployment reached the highest on record as a deepening economic slump and budget cuts prompted companies from Spain to Italy to reduce their workforces.
The jobless rate in the 17-nation euro zone was at 11 percent in April and March, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That’s the highest since the data series started in 1995. The March figure was revised higher to 11 percent from 10.9 percent estimated earlier.
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