Monthly Archives: October 2012

“The private sector is doing fine” ~ President Obama

“I think he’s really defining what it means to be out of touch with reality.” ~ Willard Mitt Romney

Since the above exchange between the President and Willard the following indicators the private sector is indeed “doing fine”:

Fiscal First Quarter reported earnings: FedEx posted $10.79 billion

In the 2^nd Quarter the following earnings were reported by the private sector: Yahoo reported $1.08 billion, Facebook reported $1.2 billion, EBay reported $3.4 billion, Macy’s reported $6.12 billion, Travelers reported $6.36 billion, McDonald’s reported $6.92 billion, Morgan Stanley reported $7 billion, Best Buy reported $10.55 billion, Amazon.com reported $12.8 billion, Google reported $12.21 billion, United Parcel Service (UPS) reported $13.4 billion, Coca-Cola reported $13.09 billion, Intel reported $13.5 billion, Dell reported $14.5 billion, Pfizer reported $15.1 billion, Johnson & Johnson reported $16.5 billion, Microsoft reported $18.06 billion, Citigroup reported $18.4 billion, Procter & Gamble reported $20.2 billion, Bank of America reported $22.2 billion, IBM reported $25.8 billion, Verizon reported $28.6 billion, AT&T reported $31.6 billion

Following are third quarter earnings: Hewlett-Packard reported $29.7 billion

Following are fourth quarter earnings: News Corp. reported $8.4 billion, Cisco reported $11.7 billion

The private sector added 163,000 jobs in July, according to the ADP report. Analysts had been expecting an increase of 120,000.

The Labor Department reports nonfarm payrolls rose by 96,000 in August from July, less than the 125,000 expected. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 8.1% from 8.3.

The Labor Department reports nonfarm payrolls increased by 114,000 in September from August, slightly ahead of estimates of 113,000. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 7.8%, the lowest rate since January 2009, from 8.1% the month prior.

The Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence rose to 65.9 in July from 62.7 in June, better than the 61.5 economists expected.

The Conference Board’s reading on consumer confidence rose to 70.3 in September from an upwardly revised 61.3 in August, topping estimates for a reading of 63. The reading was the highest since February.

The manufacturing sector in the U.S. Midwest expanded at a slightly swifter pace in July than it did the month before. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago’s PMI gauge came in at 53.7, higher than expectations of 52.5 and a reading of 52.9 in June.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas climbed 2.2% in May from the month before on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, according the S&P/Case-Shiller report. That came in stronger than the 1.5% gain economists expected.

Sales of existing homes rose 2.3% in July from June to an annualized rate of 4.47 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Existing home sales rose 7.8% in August from July to an annualized rate of 4.82 million units, topping estimates of a 4.55-million unit rate and marking the fastest pace since May 2010.

U.S. pending home sales rose 2.4% in July from June, topping the 1% expected and hitting the highest level since April 2010. Sales were up 12.4% from a year ago.

U.S. housing starts jumped 6.9% in June from May to a 760,000-unit rate, topping estimates of a 745,000-unit rate and marking the highest rate since October 2008.

Housing starts rose 2.3% in August from July to a 750,000-unit rate, missing estimates of a 765,000-unit rate. Permits fell 1% to an 803,000-unit rate, but topped estimates of a 796,000-unit rate.

Sales of new single-family homes rose 3.6% in July from June to an annualized rate of 372,000 units. Analysts were expecting an annualized rate of 365,000 units.

The Commerce Department reported that building permits rose 6.8% to a rate of 812,000, the highest level in four years.

The Labor Department reported producer prices climbed 0.3% in July from June, the fastest pace in five months. Analysts expected an increase of 0.2%. Excluding the food and energy components, prices were up 0.4%, also more than the 0.2% increase forecast.

Retail sales climbed 0.8% in July from June, the largest increase since February and a bigger gain than the 0.3% economists expected.

The consumer sentiment reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey showed consumer sentiment increased to 73.6 in early August from July’s final reading of 72.3. The August preliminary reading topped forecasts for an increase to 72.4 and marked the highest level since May.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.9% in August from July, more than the 0.7% expected and the largest rise since February. Excluding the auto segment, sales were up 0.8%, topping estimates of 0.6%.

The broad S&P 500 struck its highest level since May 2008 on 21 Aug 12, while the Dow is sitting less than 60 points beneath its highest point since the end of 2007. Meanwhile, oil futures are jumping 1.5% as the U.S. dollar sinks to its lowest level since early July.

The Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.9 in August from 51.4 in July, the first monthly increase in five months. Readings over 50 point to expansion while readings below 50 indicate contraction.

Orders for long-lasting U.S. goods rose 4.2% in July from June, blowing past estimates of a 2.4% increase. Excluding the transportation segment, orders were down 0.4%, missing estimates of a 0.5% gain.

A second reading on U.S. gross domestic product showed the economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.7% in the second quarter, in line with economists’ estimates and faster than an initial estimate of 1.5%.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas shows home prices rose 2.3% in June from May on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a bigger gain than the 1.6% expected. Prices were up 0.5% from the same period a year earlier in the first increase since September 2010.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas shows home prices rose 1.6% in July from June on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Prices were up 1.2% from a year ago, more than the 1% expected.

Personal spending rose 0.4% in July from June, as expected, to the highest level since February. Personal income rose 0.3%, also as expected.

A final reading on consumer sentiment for the month of August checked in at 74.3, higher than a preliminary reading of 73.6, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan.

The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of service-sector activity rose to 53.7 in August, the highest level since May, from 52.6 in July; the index was expected to fall slightly to 52.5.

The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of service-sector activity rose to 55.1 in September from 53.7 in August, suggesting the sector is expanding at a faster rate. Economists expected a reading of 53.1.

The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI gauge rose to 51.5 in September from 49.6 in August, topping expectations for a reading of 49.7 and marking the first time the index rose above 50 since May. Readings above 50 point to expansion while those below indicate contraction.

The unemployment rate in the U.S. unexpectedly fell to 7.8 percent in September, the lowest since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009. In spite of the Republican majority ‘do nothing congress’ that didn’t pass Obama’s Job’s Bill – (5 Oct 12)

Propelled by a surprising drop in the nation’s unemployment rate, stocks are solidly higher Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at its highest intraday level since December of 2007. The blue-chip barometer is up 85 points, or 0.6%, at 13660 and the other major stock indices are seeing similar percentage gains. The yield on the 10-year Treasury has moved up to 1.72% after the U.S. jobless rate fell to 7.8%.

Stock Market was 8077.56 on 19 Jan 09 and 13610.15 on 04 Oct 12

Who’s out of touch Mitt?