Economy

by Annaly Capital Management Yesterday the Census Bureau released manufacturers’ new orders, which is usually seen as a leading indicator for the US economy. According to a Bloomberg article titled Orders to U.S. Factories Increase in Sign…

Gallup released a poll today showing where the most jobs are being created in the US. It is in the Midwest. The graphic below demonstrates.   Overall 29% of employees polled by Gallup said their company was hiring while only 19%…

The PMI Index for the December 2010 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business® released this morning increased to 57.0% from 56.6% in November. With 50 seen as the demarcation between expansion and contraction, the report shows a manufacturing…

It is the first of January - hangover day, football day (for those of us who follow the PL) and a general day of relaxation, although this time around the first workday of the year is already desperately close. For some, it is also a day…

Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates Inc., tells Bloomberg's Pimm Fox that the companies doing the best in the retail space are the luxury retailers like Saks(SKS), Tiffany (TIF), Coach (COH). The implication is that…

The US Department of Labor reported this morning that seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims were 388,000 In the week ending Dec. 25. That is a decrease of 34,000 from last week's revised number of 422,000. This is the lowest weekly…

The role of the criminal justice system with regard to financial fraud by elite bankers in 2011 is likely to reprise its role last decade — de facto decriminalization. The Galleon investigation of insider trading at hedge funds will take…

The Case/Shiller Housing Index numbers were below expectations and confirmed that housing is dipping again after a brief respite. In the video below, Robert Shiller explains what this means for the economy.

Transfer payment receipts are defined well by the BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Dept. of Commerce): Personal current transfer receipts are benefits received by persons for which no current services are performed. They are…

by William K. Black Marty Robins' December 15, 2010, column "Blow the Whistle on Pointless Whistleblowing" in The Huffington Post opposed the SEC implementing the Dodd-Franks Act's provision that the SEC should develop a system…