misc. note
The next new blog post is scheduled for Tuesday, August 2…
Month: July 2011
Updates On Economic Indicators July 2011
Here is an update on various indicators that are supposed to predict and/or depict economic activity. These indicators have been discussed in previous blog posts: The July Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)(pdf) updated as of July 25, 2011: – The Consumer Metrics Institute Contraction Watch: – The USA TODAY/IHS Global Insight Economic Outlook Index: An excerpt …
July 21 Gallup Poll On Economic Confidence – Notable Excerpts
On July 21, Gallup released a poll titled “U.S. Economic Confidence Sinks to Lowest Level Since March ’09.” A few notable excerpts: Americans’ economic confidence plunged last week to its lowest weekly level since March 2009. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index fell to -41 in the week ending July 17 — down from -34 the prior …
Disturbing Charts (Update 5)
I find the following charts to be disturbing. These charts would be disturbing at any point in the economic cycle; that they depict such a tenuous situation now – 24 months after the official (as per the 9-20-10 NBER announcement) June 2009 end of the recession – is especially notable. These charts raise a lot …
Deloitte “CFO Signals” Report 2Q 2011 – Notable Aspects
Recently Deloitte released their “CFO Signals” report (pdf) for 2nd Quarter 2011. As seen in page 2 of the report, “Seventy-eight CFOs responded during the two weeks ended May 27. Three fourths are from public companies, and three-fourths are from companies with more than $1B in annual revenue.” Here are some excerpts that I found notable: …
The July 2011 Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Survey
The July Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Survey was published July 18, 2011. The headline is “Dearth of Demand Seen Behind Weak Hiring.” I found various aspects of the survey to be interesting, including the following excerpts: In the survey, conducted July 8-13 and released Monday, 53 economists—not all of whom answer every question—were asked the …
NFIB Small Business Optimism – June 2011
The June NFIB Small Business Optimism was released July 12. The headline of the Press Release is “Small Business Optimism Stagnates: Main Street Desperately in Search of Reasons to be Positive.” The Index of Small Business Optimism declined .1 points in June, falling to 90.8. Here are some excerpts from the report that I find particularly notable: Earnings …
Conference Board CEO Confidence 2Q 2011
On June 20, I wrote a post about the latest Business Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Survey and the Duke/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey titled “CEO & CFO Surveys 2Q 2011.” Subsequent to that post, on July 8, the Conference Board released its 2nd Quarter CEO Confidence Survey. The overall measure of CEO Confidence was at …
Ben Bernanke’s Prepared Testimony July 13 – Notable Excerpts
Yesterday Ben Bernanke gave his testimony before the Committee on Financial Services as part of the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress. His prepared testimony didn’t seem to contain content significantly different from that he has previously stated. However, in my opinion, his prepared testimony does serve as a convenient collection of various of …
Financial Stocks – Relative Price To Overall Stock Market
In the June 29 post (“Financial Stocks – Notable Price Action”) I wrote the following: I think that the relatively poor “price action” of various financial stocks is notable. It is one of many current indications that overall stock market health is not as strong as a casual glance at the major indices would indicate. …