Business Cycle & Economics Blog of Caleb Lawrence
Stocks plunged shortly after the open, but recovered late, following a disappointing Chicago Purchasing Managers Index that fell back into the red with a reading of 46.1, new orders fell sharply as well dropping to 46.3. Any number below 50 means activity is decreasing. This report was hailed as a “surprise” by the media of [...]
Stocks struggled in early trade despite positive economic data. The Case-Schiller Home price index gained 1.2% in July, it best gain in 4-years and the 6th consecutive increase for the index. While a dramatic improvement prices remain 12.8% lower for the 10-City index from a year ago. Of the 10 cities all but Las Vegas, [...]
Stocks rose sharply to begin the week on mixed data. The Chicago Fed National Activity index fell -.34 to -.9 in August, snapping a string of steady gains going back to the beginning of the year. -.7 on this index is considered the threshold for recession and this reversal of trend does not bode well [...]
Remember I’m no lawyer and that this blog is for infotainment purposes only. You’ll have to copy and past the links manually. The original article. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-brown/landmark-decision-promise_b_292333.html Some rebuttal. http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1454-Has-A-MERShole-Opened-Up.html
Stocks struggled early but hold modest gains into the final hour. We have a number of interesting revelations today. First up is a proposal by senior regulators to have banks lend money to the FDIC because its deposit insurance fund has been depleted by bank failures, at least the banks will have an opportunity to [...]
Stocks struggled in early trade and enter the final hour mixed on little news. DataQuik reported that home sales fell 12% during August in California as the median price slipped to $249,000. Distressed sales made up 40 % of the total, the lowest figure this year. In the bay areas sales fell 14% and prices [...]
Volatile early trade leaves the major averages up modestly into the final hour. For the week the DOW has gained over 200 points or 2+% while the NASDAQ is up over 50 points or some 3%. The summers oversold rally continues to reach new highs, and its managed to climb higher and last longer than [...]
Stocks opened higher but struggled late and enter the final hour with modest losses. Housing starts increased 1.5% last month and seem to have settled down at an annualized rate of about 590,000 units, as per the last 3-months. Permits increased 2.7% to 579,000 units annualized. With new home sales, 433,000 units annualized in July, [...]
Stocks moved higher late morning after a volatile opening and hold decent gains with an hour to go. The August Consumer Price Index increased .4% on higher energy costs; on a year ago basis prices have slipped 1.4%. The 2nd Quarter Current Account Deficit fell to 98.8 billion, a decline of 5.5%. This is the [...]
Stocks struggled early but enter the final hour with modest gains. Retails sales jumped 2.7% in August the largest 1-month gain since January 2006, spurred by motor vehicle and parts sales following the cash for clunkers program. Sales increased in other areas as well, still there are reasons to suspect that these gains will reverse [...]
Hi and welcome to The Profit Motive, I’m your host Caleb Lawrence. Once upon a time in America the media acted as the watchdog of the corporations and the state. In the modern era it’s all about ratings and profits, opinion has been substituted for news and frequently is presented as fact. 
