Jobs

According to figures released by the US Department of Labor, US initial jobless claims dropped to 434,000 this past week, their lowest levels in over three months. Analysts had been expecting upwards of 450,000 claims where the numbers have…

US headline PPI came in somewhat higher than expected at 0.4%.  Weekly initial jobless claims were a bit stronger than expected and the US trade deficit was wider than expected.    The trade balance, adjusted for…

As I have been saying for over a year now, arguments that fiscal stimulus is needed are not going to work. George Soros makes these arguments in the video below. Not only are these arguments not going to succeed, they are counterproductive.…

Is there a data series more highly anticipated and thoroughly parsed than the monthly nonfarm payroll release by the BLS? Probably not. But we’ll throw a few graphs onto the pile anyway. The headline Establishment Survey number came in at…

The US unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6% in September based on the US Department of Labor's household survey. Meanwhile non-farm payrolls dipped 95,000 due to a downtick of 159,000 in government payrolls, numbers below…

Highlights The US dollar is firmer amid last minute positioning just ahead of the employment data.  With another round of asset purchases continues to seem probable, even though FOMC voting member Bullard and non-voting Dallas Fed’s…

Note: I had corrected this post title due to the data from the BLS. However, the data were from last week as the embargoed data from this week had yet to be put up. I have amended it back to the original title and replaced the quote from…

Highlights The US dollar remains under relentless pressure.  Even though the ADP has tended to under under-estimate private sector job growth, the unexpected weakness reported yesterday is the latest catalyst for expectations of…

by Rick Bookstaber This reflects my personal opinion, not the views of the SEC or its staff. I just finished reading Robert Reich’s new book, Aftershock. The critical points of the book are well presented in his pre-publication New York…

Also see: Big Interview: Goolsbee Defends Obama Record on Business - Real Time Economics