U.S. Personal Income Rose 0.5%; U.S. Consumer Spending Rose 0.6%
U.S. personal income rose 0.5% in March vs. 0.4% consensus and 0.4% rise in February. On y-o-y level personal income is up 5.3%.
Archive for April, 2011
Daily Reading – Thursday, April 28, 2011
*** Econbrowser: Economy still growing and still disappointing ***
*** The Big Picture: Q1 GDP medicore ***
*** The Big Picture: Bank Arbitrage (JPM, C) ***
*** Reuters: What’s on Ben’s mind? ***
*** FT Alphaville: Meanwhile in China… ***
*** FT Alphaville: And now for Chinese zinc shenanigans ***
*** FT Alphaville: Chinese bonded warehouses’ copper inventories still rising ***
*** FT Alphaville: Copper, the re-export factor ***
*** FT BeyondBRICs: China property: to burst, or not to burst? ***
*** Pragmatic Capitalism: DAVID ROSENBERG TURNS BULLISH…. ***
*** WSJ The Source: Is It Different This Time Round? ***
*** MarketWatch: Buy gold ***
*** The Economist: Daily chart: which countries hoard the most gold? ***
*** New York Post: From rags to Internet riches, in 3 months ***
Video Of The Day: Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession ended almost two years ago, in the summer of 2009. But we’re all uneasy. Job growth has been disappointing. The recovery seems fragile. Where should we head from here? Is that question even meaningful? Can the government steer the economy or have past attempts helped create the mess we’re still in.
John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek never agreed on the answers to these questions and they still don’t. Let’s listen to the greats. See Keynes and Hayek throwing down in “Fight of the Century”.
U.S. GDP Growth in Q1 2011 At 1.8%
U.S. GDP growth for Q1 was reported at 1.8%; consensus was at 2.0%. Q4 2010 reading was at +3.1%.
Slowing down.
FOMC Statement – April 27, 2011
As expected: rising commodity prices increased inflation but the effect are only transitory, asset purchase programs will be completed as scheduled, extended period formulation still here.
Daily Reading – Wednesday, April 27, 2011
*** FT Alphaville: Markets Live – Fed press conference special, featuring Gavyn Davies ***
*** FT Alphaville: The United States of pension shortfalls ***
*** FT Alphaville: S&P has another go at Japan ***
*** FT Alphaville: Putting the ‘stag’ in stagflation ***
*** FT Alphaville: On the scale of hidden copper stocks ***
*** JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN: Eisenbeis: What’s A Central Bank To Do Besides Printing Money (And Pursue A Hidden Agenda?) ***
*** JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN: The Bankers’ Silver Scam Is Unwinding ***
*** Silver Monthly: Bunker Hunt’s Attraction to Silver: A History of Cornering the Silver Market ***
Daily Reading – Tuesday, April 26, 2011
*** FT Alphaville: What to expect from Chairman Bernanke ***
*** Gavyn Davies: Why has the American economy slowed down? ***
*** FT Alphaville: Grantham comes face-to-face with a paradigm shift ***
*** Reuters: China raises bar for polluters in restructuring plan ***
*** Calculated Risk: Timing: New Home Sales and Home Builder Reports ***
Daily Reading – Monday, April 25, 2011
*** The Big Picture: Is It 1994 Again? ***
*** The Big Picture: Cheapest Homes in 40 Years? Not Even Close… ***
*** Calculated Risk: March Survey: Almost half of housing market is now distressed properties ***
*** Early Warning: Disquieting Saudi Oil Indicators and the Next Oil Shock ***
*** Econbrowser: Saudi oil production and the Libyan conflict ***
*** The Reformed Broker: Become a Macro Strategist in Five Easy Steps! ***
*** Zero Hedge: America’s Fiscal Dead End: A 2013 “Minsky Moment” ***
*** Zero Hedge: Citi Expects A 76% Haircut On Greek Debt (And 95% If Country Waits 4 Years) For Debt/GDP Ratio Back Down To 60% ***
*** The Economist: Trying to pull together ***
U.S. New Home Sales Rose 11.1% In March
U.S. new home sales rose 11.1% to 300.000 SAAR; Consensus was at 280.000 SAAR, prior reading (revised upward 20.000) was at 270.000 SAAR.
Video Of The Day – Bloomberg: Jim Rogers Interview on Commodities, Global Stocks
Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, talks about his investment strategy for global stocks and commodities. Gold advanced, approaching a record, as tensions in the Middle East boosted oil prices, increasing demand for precious metals as a protector of wealth and hedge against inflation. Rogers also discusses his strategy for the U.S. dollar. He speaks in Hong Kong with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move Asia.”
U.S. Freight Carloads Weekly – April 22, 2011
U.S. railroads originated 295,426 carloads, down 0.4% compared with the same week in 2010 and down 2.6% compared with 5-year average. Week over week change was 0.6%.
U.S. Natural Gas Weekly – April 22, 2011
Working gas in storage rose 47 Bcf from previous week. The consensus was at 52 Bcf.
Storage level is 175 Bcf lower than same time year ago and bellow 5-year average. Much better situation than last year.
April Philadelphia FED General Business Conditions Index At 18.5
Philadelphia FED General Business Conditions Index fell from 43.4 to 18.5. Consensus was at 36.9.
As I wrote march reading was clearly an outlier, so this is a kind of normalization.
Moody’s/REAL National Commercial Property Index Fell 3.3% In February
Moody’s/REAL National Commercial Property Index fell 3.3% in February and it is now running at -4.9% y-o-y.
Daily Reading – Thursday, April 21, 2011
*** JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN: Silver: Eligible Versus Registered and About That Big Inventory Change at Scotia Mocatta ***
*** JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN: Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts – The Sagging Dollar and Blythe’s Twisted Knickers ***
*** FT Alphaville: Barber-ians at the (Greek) gate ***
*** FT Alphaville: Greece is gonna get those restructuring whisperers ***
*** FT Alphaville: QEnding: rates and fates ***
*** FT Alphaville: Say goodbye to Anglo Irish ***
*** Condor Options: Why I’m Not Worried About VIX Derivatives ***
*** The Big Picture: If You Don’t Own Apple Products, Can You Be An AAPL Investor? ***
*** The Big Picture: How to Read National Association of Realtors News Release ***
*** Streetwise Professor: Don’t Blame Me! Blame Those Damned Speculators! ***