September 4 Gallup Poll Results On Economic Confidence – Notable Excerpts

On September 4, Gallup released the poll results titled “Economic Confidence in August Ties 2012 Low.”  The subtitle is “U.S. economic outlook lowest since December 2011; still better than year ago.” Two of the most notable excerpts: The Gallup Economic Confidence Index registered -27 in August, matching the prior monthly low for the year, recorded in …

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St. Louis Financial Stress Index – August 30, 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 August 30, incorporating data from December 31,1993 to August 24, …

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St. Louis Financial Stress Index – August 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 August 23, incorporating data from December 31,1993 to August 17, …

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Updates On Economic Indicators August 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 August Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)(pdf) updated as of August 20, 2012: – The USA TODAY/IHS Global Insight Economic Outlook Index: An excerpt from the July 19 update titled “Index …

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Disturbing Charts (Update 8)

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 – 38 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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