St. Louis Financial Stress Index – May 30, 2013 Update

On March 28, 2011 I wrote a post (“The STLFSI“) about the  St. Louis Fed’s Financial Stress Index (STLFSI) 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 May 30, incorporating data from December 31,1993 to May 24, …

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Corporate Profits As A Percentage Of GDP

In the last post (“1st Quarter Corporate Profits“) I displayed, for reference purposes, a long-term chart depicting Corporate Profits After Tax. There are many ways to view this measure, both on an absolute as well as relative basis. One relative measure is viewing Corporate Profits as a Percentage of GDP.  I feel that this metric is …

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1st Quarter Corporate Profits

Today’s GDP release (Q1, 2nd Estimate) was accompanied by the BLS Corporate Profits (preliminary estimate) report for the 1st Quarter. Of course, there are many ways to adjust and depict overall Corporate Profits.  For reference purposes, here is a chart from the St. Louis Federal Reserve (FRED) showing the Corporate Profits After Tax (last updated …

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Median Household Income Chart

I have written many blog posts concerning the worrisome trends in income and earnings. Doug Short, in his May 29 blog post, titled “Real Median Household Incomes:  Up .5% in April But Only a Fractional .6% Year-over-Year” produced the chart below.  It is based upon data from Sentier Research, and it shows both nominal and real median …

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Financial Stocks – May 28, 2013 Update Concerning Poor “Price Action”

On June 29, 2011 I wrote a blog post titled “Financial Stocks – Notable Price Action.”  This post is the latest update of that message. Although financial stocks have (in general) increased in price since 2012, I continue to believe that the longer-term “price action” of various financial stocks is disconcerting.  I view the poor …

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Financial Stocks – Relative Price To Overall Stock Market – May 28, 2013 Update

In the June 29, 2011 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 …

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