Tag Archives: Mark Lieberman

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The price of a new single-family home dropped 3.2 percent in May, but sales increased 2.1 percent to 476,000, the highest level in almost five years.

Home prices posted their strongest monthly gain on record in April, increasing more than 2.5 percent, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. Overall, the 10-city index rose to 165.63, its highest level since November 2008, while the 20-city index improved to 152.37, also the highest level since November 2008. Of the 20 cities surveyed, Detroit was the only area not to show an increase in April. The April index of Detroit home prices read 81.28, barely down from 81.30 reported in April.

An increase in prices itself does not signal a bubble. An unsustainable increase, not supported by other data, however, would.

Existing-home sales rose a solid 4.2 percent in May to an annual sales rate of 5.18 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported.

Builder confidence surged eight points in June to 52, its highest reading since March 2006, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Monday. It was the first positive (above 50) reading for the association├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Housing Market Index (HMI) since April 2006. Two of the three components of the index--builder assessment of current sales and of sales six months in the future--were also positive. The current sales index rose eight points to 56, and the future sales index jumped nine points to 61.