Daily Archives: August 8, 2008 @ 11:46 am (Friday)

2008-08-08 EU News Highlights

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Looks like a demand leakage if it goes through:

Highlights:

German Net Pay May Shrink on Social Insurance Changes, FAZ Says

 
 
Article snip:

German Net Pay May Shrink on Social Insurance Changes, FAZ Says (Bloomberg) – Germany’s top wage earners may take home less pay next year because a larger portion of their wage may be subjected to social insurance contributions, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said on its Internet site. A pension insurance panel has suggested in its regular annual review to raise the amount of gross monthly pay on which contributions have to be paid by 100 euros ($152) to 5,400 euros in western Germany and by 50 euros to 4,550 euros in the eastern half of the country, the newspaper said. Employees whose pay is above these thresholds will pay an extra 11.60 euros per month into pension and unemployment insurance coffers from the start of next year, the newspaper said. The panel’s proposals are generally approved, it said. Thresholds for health and nursing insurance contributions will also be raised, the FAZ said, without providing figures.

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2008-08-08 US Economic Releases

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Nonfarm Productivity QoQ (2Q P)

Survey 2.5%
Actual 2.2%
Prior 2.6%
Revised n/a

GDP gains are coming from productivity as hours worked decline.

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Nonfarm Productivity TABLE 1 (2Q P)

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Nonfarm Productivity TABLE 2 (2Q P)

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Unit Labor Costs QoQ (2Q P)

Survey 1.4%
Actual 1.3%
Prior 2.2%
Revised 2.5%

Better than expected due to productivity increases.

If the USD stays strong, it could help import prices moderate as well.

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Unit Labor Costs ALLX (2Q P)

Karim writes:

Productivity based on hours, not employment; so we should see productivity in q2 of about 3.5% vs gdp of 1.9%.

Right, makes sense. More output from fewer workers and fewer hours is keeping GDP positive (and that much demand, which includes demand for exports, is supporting prices) even as labor markets soften.

Same as in prior 2 qtrs as hours were cut more aggressively than employment>Q4 gdp was -0.2% and productivity was +0.9%: Q1 GDP of 0.9% and productivity of 2.4%

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Wholesale Inventories MoM (Jun)

Survey 0.6%
Actual 1.1%
Prior 0.8%
Revised 0.9%

Higher than expected. Might mean upward Q2 GDP revision.

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Wholesale Inventories YoY (Jun)

Survey n/a
Actual 9.5%
Prior 8.8%
Revised n/a

With all the talk of weakness, increased inventories are most likely due to increased order flow.

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Wholesale Inventories ALLX 1 (Jun)

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Wholesale Inventories ALLX 2 (Jun)


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Bloomberg: Fed can’t reduce LIBOR

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I could fix this in twenty minutes…

Money Market `Plagued’ by Libor That Fed Can’t Reduce

by Gavin Finch

(Bloomberg) A year after central banks started to pump trillions of dollars into the financial system to end a seizure in credit markets caused by subprime mortgages, cash is about as tight as it’s ever been.

The U.S. market for commercial paper, or short-term IOUs, backed by assets such as mortgages has shrunk 40 percent from its peak in July 2007. The amount borrowed in pounds between banks in the U.K. fell by 70 percent in June from a record in February 2007. The European Central Bank received $100 billion of bids for the $25 billion it offered to financial institutions on July 29, the most since the sales began in December.

Efforts by the Federal Reserve, ECB and Swiss National Bank to shore up the world’s biggest banks and promote lending have had limited success.

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