2008-01-17 US Economic Releases

2008-01-17 Housing Starts

Housing Starts (Dec)

Survey 1145K
Actual 1006K
Prior 1187K
Revised 1173K

2008-01-17 Building Permits

Building Permits (Dec)

Survey 1135K
Actual 1068K
Prior 1152K
Revised 1162K

Both still in free fall – may be weather distorted some, but they don’t look good.


2008-01-17 Initial Jobless Claims

Initial Jobless Claims (Jan 12)

Survey 331K
Actual 301K
Prior 322K
Revised n/a

All the way back down. Seems out of line with housing and Philly Fed.

Could be the government spending kicking in that will subsequently support housing and other spending. (See previous posts on government spending.)

Spending resuming its growth after sagging for a couple of quarters as spending got moved forward.


2008-01-17 Continuing Claims

Continuing Claims (Jan 5)

2008-01-17 Continuing Claims from 1980

Continuing Claims since 1980

Survey 2750K
Actual 2751K
Prior 2702K
Revised 2685K

Back up, but this is a tiny blip on the longer term chart.


2008-01-17 Philadelphia Fed.

Philadelphia Fed. (Jan)

Survey -1.0
Actual -20.9
Prior -5.7
Revised n/a

Falling off a cliff.


2008-01-17 Philadelphia Fed. TABLE

Philadelphia Fed. TABLE

Weakness in every category – except prices paid and received, which skyrocketed.

Adds to the fed’s dilemma.


♥

Bernanke

Fed/Bernanke probably concerned about core CPI going so high and making ‘popular’ headlines and is worried about cutting 50 into the triple negative supply shock of food/fuel/import-export prices.

And with today’s claims number showing, there may not be as much slack in the labor markets as the last unemployment number indicated. The fed has been counting on slack in the labor markets to keep wage demands in check and not transmitting headline inflation to core inflation via higher wages.

And now that core has in fact started to move, he’s pushing for a fiscal package (which goes against the mainstream grain/fiscal responsibility, etc.) as an alternative to future rate cuts which carry, in mainstream theory, an inflation price.

He would very much like the planned January 30 cut to be the last one needed. He doesn’t want to be the next Miller or the next Volcker.