St. Louis Financial Stress Index – June 13, 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 June 13, incorporating data from December 31,1993 to June 7, …

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Corporate Bond Yields And OASs

I often write about interest rates and related topics as my analyses indicates that the overall bond market is an exceedingly large asset bubble. The characteristics and price levels of corporate bonds is highly noteworthy. For reference purposes, here are three bond indices and their FRED charts, as well as depictions of their spreads (as seen …

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NFIB Small Business Optimism – June 2013

The June NFIB Small Business Optimism report was released yesterday, June 11.  The headline of the Press Release is “Small-Business Confidence Edges Up, Reaches May 2012 Level.”  The subtitle is “Not Much Progress For a Recovery.” The Index of Small Business Optimism increased 2.3 points in May to 94.4. Here are some excerpts from the …

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The Prospect Of Deflation

Deflation and the potential for such a condition to develop is currently a topic of paramount importance, for a variety of reasons.  [note: to clarify, for purposes of this discussion, when I mention “deflation” I am referring to the CPI going below zero.] As one can see in the various professional economic forecasts mentioned in this …

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Average Hourly Earnings Trends

I have written many blog posts concerning the worrisome trends in income and earnings. Along these lines, one of the measures showing disconcerting trends is that of hourly earnings. While the concept of hourly earnings can be defined and measured in a variety of ways, below are a few charts that I believe broadly illustrate problematic …

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U-3 And U-6 Unemployment Rate Long-Term Reference Charts As Of June 7, 2013

Shortly after each monthly employment report I have been posting a continual series titled “3 Critical Unemployment Charts.” Of course, there are many other employment charts that can be displayed as well. For reference purposes, below are the U-3 and U-6 Unemployment Rate charts from a long-term historical perspective.  Both charts are from the St. …

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3 Critical Unemployment Charts – June 2013

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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