September Challenger Job-Cuts At 115,730
Challenger’s count of layoff announcements was reported at 115,730 in September vs. 51,114 in August.
Monthly Strategy – October 2011
Leading economic indicators are pointing to a recession. At the time being it looks like it could be a mild one, but taken into account all the unknowns (EMU future, China slowdown, bank balance-sheet question) it could easily develop into something more ominous.
Dry Bulk Weekly – October 3, 2011
Baltic dry index fell 1.5% last week; Capesize Index was down 5.2%; Panamax Index rose 4.5%; Supramax Index was up 0.9%; Handysize Index rose 6.6%.
Tanker Weekly – October 3, 2011
Baltic Dirty Tanker Index rose 0.6%; Baltic Clean Tanker Index rose 4.9%.
ECRI’s Lakshman Achuthan: U.S. Recession Is `Inescapable’
Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, talks about the outlook for a U.S. recession. He speaks with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance Midday.” (Source: Bloomberg)
ECRI’s Lakshman Achuthan: We Are Going Into Recession
CNBC: ECRI’s Lakshman Achuthan: We Are Moving Into Recession
U.S. New Home Sales Fell 2.3% In August
U.S. new home sales fell 2.3% to 295.000 SAAR; Consensus was at 293.000 SAAR, prior reading (revised upward 4.000) was at 301.000 SAAR.
Dry Bulk Weekly – September 26, 2011
Baltic dry index rose 8.8% last week; Capesize Index was up 17.1%; Panamax Index fell 5.4%; Supramax Index was up 2.0%; Handysize Index rose 1.3%.
Iron ore inventory close to all time high, price unchanged; Steel inventory and price mostly unchanged; Coal inventory down, price stable.
August Chicago Fed National Activity Index At -0.43
Chicago Fed National Activity Index for August was reported at -0.43 vs. revised July reading of -0.02. Chicago Fed National Activity Index 3-month moving average is at -0.28.
CFNAI is pointing to mild economic growth.
Tanker Weekly – September 26, 2011
Baltic Dirty Tanker Index rose 1.6%; Baltic Clean Tanker Index rose 3.7%.
Daily Reading – Thursday, September 22, 2011
*** The Big Picture: Look Out Below, Post FOMC Version ***
*** FT Alphaville: Chinese exporters starting to do it tough ***
*** FT Alphaville: US unemployment is, well, not so bad! ***
*** MarketWatch: Grantham: ‘No market for young men’ ***
*** SFGate: BlackRock Buys Junk Debt at Spreads Exceeding Bearish Scenarios ***
*** DealB%k: New Buffett Manager Gets Higher Taxes and Less Pay, by Choice ***
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims At 423.000; Down 9.000
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. were reported at 423.000 vs. 420.000 consensus and last week revised (up 4.000) reading of 432.000.
FOMC Statement – September 21, 2011
Actions as expected: operation twist has started. The committee has described the economic condition much more negatively then expected.
Daily Reading – Wednesday, September 21, 2011
*** The Big Picture: Pushing on a String ***
*** Wall Street Journal: Daniel Yergin: There Will Be Oil ***
*** Econobrowser: More thoughts on peak oil ***
*** Infectious Greed: The Case for Ignoring Dan Yergin on Oil Prices ***
*** The Big Picture: 26 things you can learn by living abroad for a year ***
Number Of U.S. Housing Starts Fell 5.0% In August
U.S. housing starts in August fell 5.0% to 571.000 vs. revised (11.000 higher) 601.000 July reading. Consensus was at 590.000. On year level U.S. housing starts are down 5.8%.