Durable Goods New Orders – Long-Term Charts Through January 2012

Many people place emphasis on Durable Goods New Orders as a prominent economic indicator and/or leading economic indicator. For reference, here are a few charts depicting this measure. First, from the St. Louis Fed site (FRED), a chart through January, last updated on February 28.  This January value is 206,090 ($ Millions) : – Here …

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The Velocity Of Money – Comments And Charts

In his Friday interview to CNBC, Lakshman Achuthan commented about the the velocity of money.  The excerpt from the transcript: you look at the velocity of money. how often does money exchange — all that money that’s going in, they’re goosing the money supply, how often does it exchange in the economy? that’s a really important metric on the health of the economy. it has …

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The ADS Index Presented In Various Charts

On October 27, 2009, I wrote a post titled “Aruoba -Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions (ADS)  Index.” That post explained the then-new ADS Index, and I have been featuring a chart of the ADS in the monthly Updates On Economic Indicators. On February 23, Doug Short published a post titled “The Philly Fed ADS Business Conditions Index” …

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St. Louis Financial Stress Index – February 23, 2012 Update

On March 28, 2011 I wrote a post (“The STLFSI“) about the  STLFSI (St. Louis Fed’s Financial Stress Index) which is supposed to measure stress in the financial system.  For reference purposes, the most recent chart is seen below.  This chart was last updated on February 23, incorporating data from 12-31-93 to 2-17-12 on a …

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Disturbing Charts (Update 6)

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 – 33 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 …

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Walmart’s Q4 2012 Results – Comments

I found various notable items in Walmart’s Q4 2012 conference call transcript (pdf) dated February 21, 2012.  I view Walmart’s results and comments as particularly noteworthy given their retail prominence and focus on low prices.  I have previously commented on their quarterly results; these previous posts are found under the “paycheck to paycheck” tag. Here are various excerpts that I …

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Updates On Economic Indicators February 2012

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 February Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)(pdf) updated as of February 21, 2012: – The USA TODAY/IHS Global Insight Economic Outlook Index: An excerpt from the February 6 update titled “Index …

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Building Financial Danger – February 21, 2012 Update

On October 17, 2011 I wrote a post titled “Danger Signs In The Stock Market, Financial System And Economy.”  This post is a brief sixth update to that post. My overall analysis indicates a continuing elevated and growing level of danger.  There are many worldwide and U.S.-specific “stresses” of a very  complex nature, and many lack …

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The Bond Bubble – February 2012 Update

In previous posts I have discussed the Bond Bubble and its many facets. Since my last update on August 15, 2011 (“The Bond Bubble – Update“), the yield on the 10-Year Treasury has roughly been in the 1.7%-2.4% range.  This is seen in the 3-year daily chart, LOG-basis, as shown below: (click on chart to enlarge image)(chart …

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