Global Macro Perspectives
And we have QE 1.1. Lite. Direct monetization. Basic money printing. I’m surprised FED reacted so fast. To help support the economic recovery in a context of price stability, the Committee will keep constant the Federal Reserve’s holdings of securities at their current level by reinvesting principal payments from agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities […]
U.S. Non-Farm Productivity fell 0.9% in second quarter. The consensus was at 0.0%, first quarter reading at 2.8%. U.S. Labor Costs rose 0.2% in second quarter vs. 1.5% consensus and -1.3% reading in first quarter. This is highly deflationary. Chart 1. U.S. Non-Farm Productivity Chart 2. Unit Labor Costs
NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for July was reported at 88.1 vs. consensus of 88.0 and prior reading of 89.0. Readings at this level are consistent with weak recovery/recession. Chart 1. NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
U.S. railroads originated 300,292 carloads for the week ending July 30, up 9.4% compared with the same week in 2009, but down 6.4% compared with 5-year average. Chart 1. Association of American Railroads U.S. Freight Carloads Total
China trade balance was reported at USD 28.7 billion vs. USD 20.0 billion in June. Export and import growth were running at 38.1 and 22.7 percent. The imports are slowing down, I would say that will mean lower exports further down the road. The accumulated surplus is now at USD 84.5 billion vs. USD 108.0 billion for […]
Housing and commercial real-estate prices in China are up 10.3% YoY in July compared with of 11.4% YoY rise in June. It’s slowing down…down 0.1% MoM. Chart 1. China NDRC Property Price Index – House Price YoY