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20 May 2010 10:34

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Biz: Jobless claims went up this weekend; stocks freak out

  • +25,000 the jump in new initial jobless claims, the first jump in over a month
  • -3% the size of the average drops for the three major stock indexes source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2010 10:39

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Biz: Bounceback: New homes getting built at decent clip, but will it last?

  • 5.8% the month-to-month increase; housing starts are at their highest level since late 2008
  • 40.9% the year-over-year increase; that’s the highest increase since March 1994
  • -11.5% the decrease in new building permits, which suggests housing starts will go down source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2010 13:27

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Culture: “Law and Order” was like NYC’s own little stimulus plan

  • 4,000 people per year got work thanks to the show
  • $79
    million     the amount the now-canceled
    crime drama brought in to the city’s economy every year
  • $1+
    billion     the amount the show brought in over its 20-year run, mostly because Jerry Orbach was so awesome source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 11:11

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Biz: Payrolls have increased, but jobless claims are still high; why?

  • People aren’t getting laid off, but jobs aren’t getting created. With a decrease in new jobless claims by less than 4,000 (there were 444,000 new jobless claims this week) against a backdrop of increasing payrolls, many are wondering why job growth isn’t faster. Some are suggesting it’s tied to the high unemployment rate. “There are more jobs being created, but the general trend is that businesses are still reluctant to hire,” said analyst Gary Shilling of A. Gary Shilling & Co. The data show that the issue is more a lack of hiring and not people getting laid off.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2010 09:47

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Biz: The U.S. trade deficit widens in March. What does that mean?

  • $188B the value of goods the U.S. imported from other countries in March
  • $147B the value of goods the U.S. exported to other countries in March
  • $40.4B the gap between
    the two     – a.k.a. our trade deficit source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 May 2010 10:57

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Biz: Which mortgage firm is asking for another government handout?

The company lost $13.1 billion in their last quarter, so now they’re hitting up the government for another $8.4 billion. Fannie’s too big to fail. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 May 2010 10:50

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Biz: Europe’s debt response gave U.S. stocks the bounceback they needed

  • 3.6% the current increase for the Dow Jones Industrial
  • 3.98% the boost for the S&P 500 thanks to Europe’s debt crisis response
  • 4.29% the current increase for the Nasdaq; this matches global markets source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

10 May 2010 10:08

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Biz: As expected, the market loved Europe’s response to the debt crisis

  • 3% the worldwide stock increase after Europe put its full financial might behind the debt crisis
  • 2% the amount the Euro gained on the dollar; in recent days, it had been floundering source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2010 21:28

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Biz: The European Union throws a ton of money at debt crisis

  • €720B
     could get loaned to European countries greatly affected by the debt crisis
  • €440B
     the amount European countries will make available; the EU will loan €60 billion
  • €220B more could come from the Greece-helping International Monetary Fund source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2010 20:29

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World: Greece gets the first part of that massive aid package of theirs

  • $38.6B
    will get loaned to Greece over the next three years by the IMF
  • $7B
    hits the country’s coffers as of right now; the rest comes later
  • $141B
    was offered to the country in an aid package accepted last week source
  • » Will this improve the country’s dismal state? It’ll improve the global market most likely but won’t ease tensions among its citizens. The extremely unpopular austerity measures were a condition of the aid package they got from the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission. So they’re not going away, kids.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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