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Author Archives: Mark Lieberman

Mark Lieberman is the former Senior Economist at Fox Business Network. He is now Managing Director and Senior Economist at Economics Analytics Research. He can be heard each Friday on The Morning Briefing on POTUS on Sirius-XM Radio 124.

June Retail Sales Get Lift from Auto, Gas Prices

Total retail activity rose $1.6 billion in June compared with an increase of $2.25 billion in May. Auto sales accounted for $1.4 billion of the June increase and sales at gasoline stations another $316 million. Gasoline prices rose about 1 cent per gallon from May ($3.68) to June ($3.69). In June, sales at building material and garden supply stores dropped $574 million from May, the largest month-over-month decline since May 2012. Sales increased in June at furniture stores, clothing stores, and health and personal care stores.

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Initial Jobless Claims Up to Two-Month High

First time claims for unemployment insurance jumped a surprising 16,000 to 360,000, for week ended July 6, the highest level since mid-May, the Labor Department Thursday. Economists expected the number of claims to drop to 337,000 from the 343,000 originally reported for the week ended June 29.

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Job Openings Edge Up in May, Hiring Strong

The number of job openings edged up in May, increasing for the for the first time since February as hirings continued to improve, on a pace to exceed 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

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Commentary: Unintended Consequences

When Congress enacted Dodd-Frank in retribution for perceived ills, you had to know banks would come up with new ways to replace lost revenues, but bankers were too clever by half.

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Payrolls Up 195K, Unemployment Rate Flat in June

Adding new pressures for the Federal Reserve, the nation's economy added 195,000 jobs in June, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 7.6.percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 165,000, and that the unemployment rate would dip to 7.5 percent.

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First-Time Jobless Claims Continue Downward Trend

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell for the fourth time in the last five weeks, dropping 5,000 to 343,000 for week ending June 29, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The four-week moving average of first-time claims dropped 750 to 345,500. The four-week moving average of continuing claims declined 9,500 to 2,969,250 for the period ending June 22.

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Personal Income, Spending Rise in May

With a boost from the calendar, personal income rose 0.5 percent in May--faster than economists had forecast--while personal consumption went up an unsurprising 0.3 percent the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Thursday.

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First-Time and Continuing Jobless Claims Drop

Unemployment

First-time claims for unemployment insurance dropped 9,000 to 346,000 for week ending June 22, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 345,000 claims. Claims filings for the week ended June 15 were revised up to 355,000 from the originally reported 354,000.

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First-Quarter GDP Growth Scaled Back

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) put GDP growth a 1.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, a drop from the previous estimate of 2.4 percent. The downward revision to GDP came amidst positive news about the economy. Home prices, according to the Case-Shiller Index released Tuesday, rose at their fastest pace ever in April and consumer confidence, as reported by the Conference Board, increased for the third straight month. Residential fixed investment was reported as $399 billion, up slightly from the second report.

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