3 Critical Unemployment Charts – July 2012

As I have commented previously, as in the October 6, 2009 post (“A Note About Unemployment Statistics”), in my opinion the official methodologies used to measure the various job loss and unemployment statistics do not provide an accurate depiction; they serve to understate the severity of unemployment. However, even if one chooses to look at the …

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St. Louis Financial Stress Index – July 5, 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 July 5, incorporating data from December 31,1993 to June 29, …

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Deloitte “CFO Signals” Report 2Q 2012 – Notable Aspects

Recently Deloitte released their “CFO Signals” (pdf) “high-level” report for the 2nd Quarter of 2012. As seen in page 2 of the report, “Ninety-three CFOs responded during the two weeks ended May 29. Three fourths are from public companies, and over 77% are from companies with more than $1B in annual revenue.” Here are some excerpts that …

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Standard & Poor’s S&P500 Earnings Estimates For 2012 & 2013 – As Of June 29, 2012

As many are aware, Standard & Poor’s publishes earnings estimates for the S&P500.  (My posts concerning their estimates can be found under the S&P500 Earnings tag) For reference purposes, the most current estimates are reflected below, and are as of June 29, 2012: Year 2012 estimates add to the following: -From a “bottom up” perspective, operating earnings of $103.60/share …

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July 3 Gallup Poll Results On Economic Confidence – Notable Excerpts

On July 3, Gallup released the poll results titled “Economic Confidence Retreats From May’s Improved Level.”  The subtitle is “Confidence in June slid more among high-income than lower-income Americans.” Three of the most notable excerpts: The Gallup Economic Confidence Index averaged -22 in June, down from -17 in May and reverting to the -22 recorded in …

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U.S. Dollar Decline – July 2, 2012 Update

U.S. Dollar weakness is a foremost concern of mine.  As such, I have extensively written about it.  I am very concerned that the actions being taken to “improve” our economic situation will dramatically weaken the Dollar.  Should the Dollar substantially decline from here, as I expect, the negative consequences will far outweigh any benefits.  The negative impact …

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