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27 Apr 2011 16:29

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Politics: Fed. Chairman Bernanke holds unprecedented press conference

  • Working the crowd: Bernanke told reporters that his decision to hold this first-ever event was part of his effort to increase transparency at the Federal Reserve. On the issues, though, Bernanke was less a revelatory messenger than that of a lot of news we sort of already knew — unemployment is high, inflation is a risk as always (though one he sought to downplay), the deficit is unsustainable, and the Fed will be broadly staying the course with its monetary policies. That said, we want to give him some credit. First, the Federal Reserve has been a very secretive organization throughout its life, and Bernanke’s effort in making himself more available is admirable. Second, that might be the best damn beard in all of central banking. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Apr 2011 11:15

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U.S.: Unemployment falls, 261k new jobs added in March

  • 8.8% unemployment rate, lowest in two years source
  • » There’s more: In the last four months, unemployment has fallen a total of one percent. This may not seem significant, but it’s in fact the largest four-month drop since 1983. Even if the economy continued to grow at this rate, though, the US wouldn’t be back to pre-recession employment rates until–wait for it–2018. So while this is a good jobs report, it’s not quite good enough. Here’s to the future!
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Mar 2011 10:28

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Biz, World: Japan quake: Tokyo’s main stock index lost lots of money today

  • 6.2% the drop in Japan’s Nikkei stock index today – the largest single-day drop since 2008
  • 4.88B the number of Tokyo Stock Exchange shares that changed hands – the most since World War II
  • $287B the stock exchange’s single-day loss in value; so much collective value, gone … wow source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Mar 2011 20:17

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Politics, U.S.: Congress continues working the budget layaway circuit

  • two number of weeks the government gave itself to figure out a budget plan by putting one on layaway
  • zero number of spending resolutions that passed both chambers of Congress in that two-week period
  • three number of weeks the government will likely put a new budget on layaway to prevent a shutdown source
  • » Oh yeah: The next temporary deal could include restrictions that limit how and when the budget can be used – such as, for example, no money spent on the new health care law. Hrm.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 01:02

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Biz: Mideast ripple effect: Gas prices’ second-highest spike ever

  • 32.7¢ the increase in gas prices in the past two weeks, caused by the drama in the Middle East – the second-largest jump on record
  • 38.44¢ the largest jump in gas prices on record, which happened in 2005 – immediately after this storm called Hurricane Katrina source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2011 20:26

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Biz: More on the unemployment figures: Who wants a job, anyway?

  • 6.4 million people not counted in the “labor force” want jobs now
  • 8.9% the percentage of people the U.S. government says are unemployed, according to traditional figures which have been caressed with great care to look as good as possible
  • 12.6% the percentage of people who the government says want a job, but are unable to get one – a number that includes, but extends BEYOND the unemployed source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2011 10:46

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Biz: Job numbers: Why Feburary’s numbers are particularly promising

  • 8.9% the unemployment rate in February, the lowest it’s been in over two years
  • 192k the increase in nonfarm payrolls – the biggest monthly leap since May
  • 58k the jump in January’s payroll numbers in revised estimates source
  • » Why this jump is a pretty big deal: Simply put, this is all private-sector growth, meaning that business are hiring again. It’s not nearly as quick as economists want it, but the growth is promising, so they’ll take it. Also worth noting – the jump in jobs last May was due to the Census, which means that those were here-today-gone-tomorrow-type jobs. This is actual, real growth. Hopefully it keeps up.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Mar 2011 10:19

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Biz: Unemployment: Jobless claims numbers hit three-year low

  • 362,000 the number of new jobless claims – down 20,000 from the week before and overall fairly low
  • May ’08 the last time the numbers were lower than this – with suggests a positive downward trend source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Mar 2011 21:49

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U.S.: Fuel efficiency, gas prices on buyers’ minds as car sales go way up

  • 46.4% increase in February’s overall car sales source
  • » Give rising gas prices the credit: More people on the market for vehicles were looking for fuel-efficient models in part because gas is getting ever the more expensive. In case you’re looking for a reason to credit the unrest in the middle east on this, this person quoted in the L.A. Times does the job for you: “With everything happening in the world, gas is only going to go up,” said Cynthia Hibbard who recently bought a Ford Fiesta. “I have filled it up just once, on Monday, since the car was purchased. I put just nine gallons of gas in the car but that was still $35.” One other fun fact: Last month was the best-selling month ever for the Toyota Prius.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Feb 2011 21:32

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Politics: Will John Boehner’s “put the budget on layaway” plan stick?

  • issue Obama and the GOP are at a stalemate with the budget, and there’s a real danger the government might shut down later this week. Great.
  • stopgap As a way to prevent that from happening, House Speaker John Boehner came up with an offer to put the government on layaway for two weeks.
  • problem The sticking point? Obama wants a full month. Boehner may not be willing to put the budget on layaway for nearly that long. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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