Free Republic

U.S. industrial production unexpectedly fell in May, with a slump in manufacturing activity providing another sign of concern for the economic recovery. Industrial production last month slipped 0.1%, the Federal Reserve said Friday. April's output figures were revised down slightly to a 1.0% gain, versus an initial estimate of a 1.1% jump.

(RTTNews) - New claims for unemployment insurance in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a modest increase in the week ended June 9th, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department. The Labor Department estimated initial jobless claims at a seasonally adjusted level of 386,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 380,000. The increase surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to edge down to 375,000 from the 377,000 originally reported for the previous week. Lindsey Piegza, an economist at FTN Financial, said, "While noticeably down from this time last year, claims remain elevated after the...

The only thing more amusing than the weekly upward revisions in the initial weekly jobless claims are the media reports of significant drops afterward. Today's case in point is the "drop" to 377,000 from last week's 383,000, which got revised upward to 389,000 ... the 64th upward revision in 65 weeks: In the week ending June 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 377,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 389,000. The 4-week moving average was 377,750, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 376,000.The advance seasonally adjusted...

ORIGINAL POST: Last economic datapoint of the day: April factory orders come out at 10:00 AM ET. Analysts expect an increase of 0.2%. That compares to a decline of 1.9% in the previous month. Given all the bad news in econ data-world these days, this one will be closely watched for confirmation or negation of the trend. UPDATE: The numbers are out and bad. Factory orders fell 0.6% in April, which is way worse than the 0.2% growth anticipated. Last month was revised to a decline of 2.1% from a decline of -1.5%. And ext-transport, the decline was a solid...

New orders for U.S. factory goods fell in April for the third time in four month . . . orders for manufactured goods dropped 0.6 percent during the month. The government also revised its estimate for new orders in March to show a steeper decline . . . The Labor Department on Friday reported that job creation slowed in May for the fourth straight month.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures nearly doubled their losses on Friday after a U.S. government report showed the economy created many fewer jobs than expected in May. Down around 110 points before the data, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJM2 -1.64% slumped 185 points to 12,200 in recent trade. S&P 500 futures SPM2 -1.96% declined 25 points, or 1.9%, to 1,285. Nasdaq 100 futures NDM2 -1.94% slumped 44.25 points to 2,478.7.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy is looking slightly weaker one day before a critical report on May job growth. Growth was a little slower in the first three months of the year than first estimated, largely because governments and consumers spent less and businesses restocked their supplies more slowly. The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits rose to a five-week high last week.

Developing. Analysts expect to see 370K weekly claims. That would exactly be in line with last week's 370K. The number is one of the best high-frequency predictors of the economy and the market, so this is big. If this stays tame, it will do a lot to assure that things aren't deteriorating too badly. UPDATE: The number is 383K, a miss from an upwardly revised.

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in April to a four-month low, undermining some of the recent optimism that the housing sector was touching bottom. The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in April, fell 5.5 percent to 95.5, its lowest level since December. Economists polled by Reuters had expected signed contracts, which lead existing home sales by a month or two, to rise 0.1 percent after a previously reported 4.1 percent gain. The housing market has been one of the U.S. economy's weakest links as it recovers...

First results after polls closed at 9pm last night showed Mohammed Morsi, the leader of the Brotherhood's political front, the Freedom and Justice Party, taking an early lead, seemingly confirming the group's own earlier exit polls. Analysts stressed that the count would be long and difficult, with a formal result only due on Tuesday. But other campaigns, including that of Amr Moussa, the former Arab League secretary-general long considered the front-runner, also said Mr Morsi was ahead and at least likely to gain one of the two spots in next month's run-off. Whether he will go on to win that...

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, government data on Thursday showed, suggesting the labor market continues to expand at a moderate pace. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000, the Labor Department said. The prior week's figure was revised up to 372,000 from the previously reported 370,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims unchanged last week. Claims have barely budged in the past four weeks indicating a marginal improvement in the pace of job creation after April's disappointing 115,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d3cac24-a42e-11e1-a701-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1vctpmQf0 General Mills, the US food company, said that it would cut about 850 jobs, or 2.4 per cent of its workforce, as it looks to slash costs. The move is part of a global restructuring plan that General Mills said on Tuesday would improve its efficiency and allow it to reinvest in high-growth products.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: You remember last week -- you may not, but I do. And I'm here to tell you and to remind you. Last week there were headlines trumpeting that jobless claims were down 1,000 and the unemployment rate fell from 8.2 to 8.1%. They were honest and said it's not because new jobs are being created; it's because people are leaving the workforce and there's a smaller universe of people working and jobs available against which to compare the unemployed and get your percentage. Jobless claims down 1,000. Big news. The trend continues. But like always, it turns...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits was unchanged last week at 370,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 370,000 from an initial reading 367,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would fall to 365,000 on seasonally adjusted basis in the week ended May 12.

(CBS News) Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Friday backed away from his support of adoptions by same-sex couples, saying that he simply "acknowledges" the legality of such adoptions in many states. A day earlier, Romney, in an interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto, had indicated that while he does not support same-sex marriage, he considers the adoption of children by same-sex couples a "right." He said on Thursday: "And if two people of the same gender want to live together, want to have a loving relationship, or even to adopt a child -- in my state individuals of...

Developing

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level in a month last week, a hopeful sign for a labor market that has shown signs of weakening. Initial jobless claims dropped by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000 in the week ended April 28, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected 378,000 new claims. The drop was the biggest since May 2011 and follows three weeks of disappointingly high readings. The prior week's claims were revised to 392,000—the highest since late November—from the initially reported 388,000. The four-week...

The legislative analyst’s office has a new number that is adding to California’s financial headache: $3 billion. That’s the total amount that tax revenue has lagged behind goals set by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration in the current fiscal year. The shortfall was detailed in a report released on Tuesday by the nonpartisan office, which provides budget advice to lawmakers. Much of that gap comes from a disappointing April, the most important month for income taxes. Income taxes were $2.07 billion short of the $9.43-billion goal, and corporate taxes fell $143 million short of an expected $1.53 billion, according to the...

A new survey of Fortune 100 companies finds that the health care overhaul, contrary to the claims of its authors, created some perverse incentives for employers to drop workers from company insurance plans. Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee surveyed the top 100 companies about how much they spent on health care -- a total of 71, covering 5.9 million employees, responded. The results suggested it would be far more attractive for companies to drop workers from those plans than keep them.

The US economy slowed in the first quarter of the year, dropping from the previous quarter’s 3.0% to 2.2%, according to the latest report from the Department of Commerce: Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to the “advance� estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2011, real GDP increased 3.0 percent.The Bureau emphasized...

U.S. economic growth cooled in the first quarter as businesses cut back on investment and restocked shelves at a moderate pace, but stronger demand for automobiles softened the blow.

First Solar, a solar energy company that received a $1.46 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, announced today that it will layoff 2,000 workers in the United States and world-wide. The company will "indefinitely idle" four production lines in Malaysia and shutter a plant in Germany. "These actions, combined with other personnel reductions in Europe and the U.S., will reduce First Solar's global workforce by approximately 2,000 positions, about 30 percent of the total," First Solar announced today. "After a thorough analysis, it is clear the European market has deteriorated to the extent that our operations there are...

Photos taken by a French satellite show glaciers in a mountain range west of the Himalayas have grown during the last decade. The growing glaciers were found in the Karakoram range, which spans the borders between Pakistan, India and China and is home to the world's second highest peak, K2. The startling find has baffled scientists ... French scientists from the National Centre for Scientific Research and the University of Grenoble, were forced to rely on satellite images, to study the region - because much of the Karakoram range is inaccessible. They compared observations made in 1999 and 2008 and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to their highest level since January, a development that could raise fears the labor market recovery was stalling after job creation slowed in March. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 380,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's figure was revised up to 367,000 from the previously reported 357,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 355,000 last week. The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, rose 4,250 to 368,500. The...

Employers pulled back sharply on hiring last month, a reminder that the U.S. economy may not be growing fast enough to sustain robust job growth. The unemployment rate dipped, but mostly because more Americans stopped looking for work. The Labor Department says the economy added 120,000 jobs in March, down from more than 200,000 in each of the previous three months. The unemployment rate fell to 8.2%, the lowest since January 2009. The rate dropped because fewer people searched for jobs. The official unemployment tally only includes those seeking work.

March NFP big miss at just 120K. Unemployment rate declines from 8.3% to 8.2%. [SNIP] The unemployment rate drops to 8.2% for one simple reason: the number of people not in the labor force is back to all time highs: 87,897,000.

The nation's unemployment rate dipped slightly in March, but the economy's job-creating engine slowed, raising concerns about the strength of the recovery. The Labor Department reported Friday that the economy generated 120,000 jobs last March, well below the 203,000 expected and breaking a streak of robust job reports since the beginning of the year. The unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent from 8.3 percent in February.

WASHINGTON—U.S. job growth slowed in March, and the labor force shrank, signaling that the economy could be losing momentum.Jobs outside of agriculture grew by 120,000 last month—half the number that the economy added the prior month—the Labor Department said Friday, marking the first time since November that job growth fell below 200,000. The unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, ticked down a tenth of a percentage point to 8.2%, but the drop resulted in part from fewer Americans seeking work.Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected a gain of 203,000 in payrolls and for the jobless...

Jobless Stats Reveal Disparities As economy Starts To Recover March 09, 2012 While the Labor Department reports a surge in private-sector hiring and the nation's unemployment rate holding steady at 8.3 percent, a closer look at the numbers paints a less flattering picture of the country's post-recession growth. The latest report for February shows lingering economic disparities among different segments of the population. And, as has been the case for decades, the unemployment rate used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not tell the whole story. Counting only those Americans who are actively looking for work, the jobless rate...

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose in professional and businesses services, health care and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and mining.

<p>New claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, a government report showed on Thursday, but not enough to change perceptions that the labor market was strengthening.</p>

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: According to Gallup, the unemployment rate in February: 9.1%. We're gonna get the federal unemployment number here pretty soon, and we will hear what the Obama regime is claiming the new unemployment number is. Now, unemployment compensation requests or applications went up by about 8,000. Jobless claims jumped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 362,000 in the week ending March the 3rd. This is according to the Labor Department. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast that claims would rise by 2,000. So this was unexpected. Claims rose by 8,000. That's the government. Gallup says that their...

(RNS) Mitt Romney has trounced Rick Santorum, an ardent Catholic, among Catholic voters, but Romney's support among evangelicals has wavered thus far in the GOP presidential primary, according to a new analysis of exit poll data. Though he won evangelicals in two states, in general Romney has performed 15 percentage points better among non-evangelicals, according to an analysis released Friday (March 2) by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Exit poll data is available in seven of the 11 states that have held primary contests to date, according to the Pew Forum. More detailed religious affiliations are available...

Purchasing a tank of gasoline in the next two or three days is going to cost you more than perhaps you expected. Gasoline prices skyrocketed from $3.29 a gallon on Wednesday to $3.59 and $3.69 at most Macomb County gasoline stations on Thursday. And, some service station owners said, they predict the price will go up even higher today. “This sucks,” Brad Marchwinski of Sterling Heights bluntly said after buying gasoline for his company vehicle. “They are going to put a lot of decent people who are trying to make a living and have to use their vehicles for work...

Sounds more like 2004 Obama campaigning against 2012 Obama.

Signs Point To More Strong Jobs Growth: Expert (CBS News) There are indications the economy is getting stronger. The Labor Department said Friday 243,000 jobs were added last month, the largest gain since April of last year, and the unemployment rate fel to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three-years. The numbers, says Charles Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders, are "pretty close to great. What was unique about this month relative to past months is there was not much you could follow (with the word 'but'). The sport has been the skeptics diving into each month's number and finding...

The U.S. economy produced another solid month of job gains in January, offering a hopeful sign for hiring in the year ahead. Employers added a net 243,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday. That’s higher than December, when employers added a net 200,000 jobs, and it marked the seventh straight month in which at least 100,000 jobs were created. That hasn't happened since 2005. The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent in January from 8.5 percent in the prior month. The unemployment rate has fallen for the past five months and is now at its lowest level...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: There is some interesting data out from Zero Hedge, but I can't see it anymore. Zero Hedge, it's a website, have pointed out some confirmation about something that I've been talking about for a long time; and they have been saying it, too, as well. And that is: If you factor in the smaller workforce, the real unemployment rate would be a good bit higher than it is. There's a companion story to this, and that is in the Wall Street Journal today: "Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Declines." You know, Obama's trying to set this scenario up where...

Two weeks ago, we observed that the number of seasonally-adjusted initial unemployment insurance claims being filed each week was still following the same trend it has since 9 April 2011, but that it was becoming increasingly volatile, suggesting that the trend is beginning to break down: Today's number also underscores the increasing level of volatility in the data - when the current trend was establishing itself, it was characterized by relatively small changes in the number of new jobless claims being filed from week to week. Today new data marks the fourth time in the last six weeks in which...

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-01-26/unemployment-claims-durable-goods/52800550/1 USA today - link only

New single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in December for the first time in four months and the median home price dropped, dampening some of the hopes the housing sector will boost the economy this year. The Commerce Department said on Thursday sales decreased 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted 307,000-unit annual rate. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 320,000-unit rate. November's sales pace was revised slightly lower. The housing market remains constrained by high unemployment, falling prices and an oversupply of unsold homes following a bust that triggered the 2007-09 recession. Sales fell in two of the...

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly jumped by 24,000 last week to 399,000 as more workers lost their jobs, the Labor Department said Thursday. At the same time, the economy continues to lose workers. In the 30 months since the recession officially ended, nearly 1 million people have dropped out of the labor force — they aren't working, and they aren't looking — according to data from Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the past two months, the labor force shrank by 170,000. This is virtually unprecedented in past economic recoveries, at least since the BLS has kept detailed records.

<p>WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The number of Americans applying for first-time jobless benefits rose last week, a report showed on Thursday, reversing a recent decline and suggesting the labor market remains brittle. Unemployment claims jumped to 399,000 in the first week of 2012, the highest in six weeks, from an upwardly revised 375,000 in the prior week. The four-week average of claims also marched higher to 381,750 from 374,000. The Labor Department report also showed 3.63 million continuing claims, up from 3.61 million. Including the millions of workers receiving benefits under emergency federal programs, some 7.3 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits as of Dec. 24, the most recent date for which comprehensive figures are available. The U.S. unemployment rate has fallen sharply in recent months and was 8.5 percent December, but some economists worry the drop has been due in part to discouraged workers dropping out of the labor force.</p>

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filing initial claims for regular state unemployment benefits rose by 24,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 399,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected claims to rise by 8,000 to 380,000 in the week ended Jan. 7. Claims from the prior week were revised up to 375,000 from 372,000. The average of new claims over the past four weeks increased by 7,750 to 381,750.

Retail sales rose at the weakest pace in seven months in December as consumers pulled back late in the holiday shopping season, cutting purchases at department stores and spending less on electronic gadgets. Total retail sales increased 0.1 percent after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in November, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. (snip) Excluding autos, retail sales fell 0.2 percent, the first decline since May 2010.

After a few weeks of trending reduction, if not overwhelming momentum toward a net job-creation level, the number of initial jobless claims rose last week by 15,000 to 381,000. The Department of Labor also reported that they adjusted last week’s figure upward by 2,000 claims, but this report will almost certainly be adjusted by a more significant amount: In the week ending December 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 381,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 366,000. The 4-week moving average was 375,000, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week’s...

Newt Gingrich said Friday that a former CIA official has told him that President Obama's administration has leaked more secrets than any administration that official had seen. "You have an Obama administration who's dedicated to appeasing our enemies and dedicated to giving away our secrets," Gingrich said in an interview with WHO radio in Des Moines. "I've had a former very senior CIA person tell me this White House has leaked more secrets than any White House in his lifetime." A senior Obama campaign official said in response: "His definition of appeasement must be decimating al Qaeda's leadership." Obama has...

The U.S. economy expanded less than thought during the third quarter as consumer spending fell short of an earlier estimate, though signs point to stronger growth in the final months of the year.

In his own inimitable style, Davidowitz explains why the consumer is in "terrible shape" and why "it's going to get worse," citing the following: Crushing Debt Load: Consumer debt is 117% of disposable income. Help Not Wanted: Even November's "strong" report included more people dropping out of the labor pool (315,000) vs. those who found work (278,000), according to the Labor Department's household survey. Reverse Wealth Effect: Household net worth fell 4% in the third quarter, a drop of $2.4 trillion, according to the Fed. That's the biggest drop since 2008 and would be hard to overcome even if wages...

Unemployment is at 8.7%, with 9.7% working part time but seeking full-time jobs. Underemployment, a measure that combines the percentage of workers who are unemployed with the percentage working part time but wanting full-time work, is 18.4% in mid-December, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment. This is up slightly from 18.1% at the end of November and similar to the 18.5% of a year ago. ... The second component of underemployment is the percentage of U.S. employees who are working part time but want full-time work. It is now at 9.7% -- essentially the same as the 9.6% at...