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

[blid2def]

and this data did nothing to lift the index....this is how poor the sentiment is right now...

for the Longs....dont hope....if u do.,...it will be very costly....

for the shorts...dont be complacent though....a reversal can happen anytime.

for the rest of us commoners.... we Put cautiously....

Because the oil inventory collapse by 2M... which again leads me to my question - what's the history behind the weekly reports of the inventories? Was it something introduced during the last oil crisis to quell uneasiness over their oil stockpiles? Is a weekly report necessary, or would a fortnightly (or even monthly) report suffice, and also provide some smoothing of the curve and emotions?

[kennynah]

3jul08

June US Unemployment Figures
unemployment rate is 5.5%


the details here :

03 Jul 2008 12:30 GMT

US DATA: June employ report shows "weakness persisted," with payrolls -62k and unemply rate unch at a high 5.5%. Labor Dept said MW floods had "no discernable impact."

Apr-May jobs rev -52k.

Jun payroll composition:
mfg -33k,
construction -43k,
retail -7.5k,
pro svcs -51k,
but health +14.5k,
pvt ed +15.3k, & state govt +15k.
AHE +0.3% to +3.4% YOY, about trend.

Hours fell, implying weak IP and income reports are ahead. So this was another recession-type report.

And, Jun 28 Unemploy Claims +16k to 404k, at recession levels: perhaps some IA flood effect?

[Details: Payrolls Prior AHE,yoy Agg Hrs Civ Unempl Rt/Unrnd]
Jun -62k ----- +3.4% 107.0 5.5% (5.505%)
May -62k -49k +3.5% 107.1 5.5% (5.492%)
Apr -67k -28k +3.4% 107.5r 5.0% (4.953%)

[kennynah]

03 Jul 2008 12:50 GMT
US weekly jobless claims rise 16,000 to 404,000, highest level since March

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The number of individuals filing new claims for unemployment insurance hit a three-month high last week, while a moving average of the number of people continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose to a level not seen in more than four years, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The number of first-time claims filed in the week ending June 28 rose 16,000 to 404,000, well above the 385,000 claims economists polled by Thomson Reuters IFR Markets were expecting. That is the second time this year initial claims have exceeded 400,000 -- the last time was in late March, when weekly claims rose to 406,000.

The four-week moving average for initial claims also rose sharply, by 11,250 to 390,500, which is the highest level seen since October 2005. Economists prefer the four-week moving average because it smoothes out fluctuations in weekly data.

The number of people continuing to receive unemployment insurance in the week ending June 21 fell by 19,000 to 3.116 million, lower than the 3.150 million expected by economists.

However, the four-week moving average for continuing unemployment claims increased by 8,750 to 3.111 million, the highest level since February 2004.

[millionairemind]

K - since you trade currencies, can enlighten me a little?

I am seeing that for no reason, USD is strengthening amid all this weakness and ECB raising rates. Care to share your tots?

[kennynah]

mm: i only occasionally play fx....
this swing happening can be attributed to "selling of the euro on the fact" .... usd has been weakening since trichet loudmouthed jul rate hike... fx is very forward looking... a lot more than equities...

but i m not so confident usd strength can last...

and in addition.... key was trichet's post rate announcement speech, which was not hawkish enough....meaning, mkt sees future hikes not forthcoming again so soon

[LenaHuat]

Hi K

Thanks for r PM . Had a good vacation.

USD/EURO and USD/YEN are too much for most stomachs. Also one needs very very deep pockets to deal with them. Best to lay off them. Very very difficult to make $$ from these FX deals.

[kennynah]

07 Jul 2008 14:01 GMT

US DATA: June Conference Bd employment trends index -0.6% to 111.9 vs 113.7.

Suggests more job declines.

[kennynah]

i hope you can make sense of this figures...bcos, i cant

*****************

Wholesale Inventories Rise Slightly More Than Expected in May
7/8/2008 10:30 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Government data released on Tuesday showed that inventories held by merchant wholesalers rose more than expected in May.

Wholesale inventories rose 0.8 percent in May to a level of $431 billion. The figure was 8.7 percent higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, April's figure was revise upward by $0.2 billion.

Economists had expected wholesale inventories to climb 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile wholesale sales climbed 1.6 percent from last year to reach a level of $397.4 billion. This brought the figure to a level 13.7 percent higher than last year.

The data showed that the inventories to sales ratio in May was 1.08, compared to 1.13 at the same time last year.

[blid2def]

Means what? More things stuck not sold (but growth of stuck stocks less than anticipated)? Means got Great Discount Sales coming!

Isit like dat say?

[blid2def]

Wait new one...

Isit like dat say? == Sibo ani kong? == Cybil Annie Kong?