Continue reading Closing Bell: Bears Breathe Deep Late in Day (ABK, BBY, CAAS, C, LULU, GENZ)

Closing Bell: Bears Breathe Deep Late in Day (ABK, BBY, CAAS, C, LULU, GENZ) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the Bell: Stocks Edge Higher Ahead of December Jobs Data

Before the Bell: Stocks Edge Higher Ahead of December Jobs Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Jobless Claims Further Sour Street's Mood

Jobless Claims Further Sour Street's Mood originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Recession-end sells the short-sellers (PG, HGSI, FSLR, AMSC, TSPT)

Closing Bell: Recession-end sells the short-sellers (PG, HGSI, FSLR, AMSC, TSPT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: DJIA component earnings lift market (EBAY, HTE, MI, MCD, MMM)

Closing Bell: DJIA component earnings lift market (EBAY, HTE, MI, MCD, MMM) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First-time claims for jobless benefits fell last week, hitting the lowest level we've seen since January. The U.S. Department of Labor pegged the number at 521,000. This is down from the previous week's 554,000 (which had been revised upward). Wall Street economists anticipated 540,000. Claims of this type have fallen four times in five weeks, and the four-week average reached 539,750 - its lowest level since January 17, 2009.

In general, first-time claims for unemployment benefits have been declining since the spring, though slowly. Unfortunately, they still remain well above the 325,000 that economists claim to be indicative of a healthy economy.

Continue reading First-time jobless claims fall faster than expected

First-time jobless claims fall faster than expected originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Bulls start getting drunk (MO, AIG, BA, C, HOG, IMMU)

Closing Bell: Bulls start getting drunk (MO, AIG, BA, C, HOG, IMMU) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: When green shoots turn to blooms (AAPL, BAC, COST, GS, VLO)

Closing Bell: When green shoots turn to blooms (AAPL, BAC, COST, GS, VLO) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Unemployment continues its rise in April

Unemployment continues its rise in April originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 May 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week by 32,000 to 637,000, much worse than economists predicted. And we have another disappointing number: Continuing claims for unemployment rose to a record high of 6.56 million, up from 6.34 million the previous week. The insured unemployment rate rose by .1% to 4.9%.

Obviously, these numbers are throwing cold water on any claims of reaching bottom. Last week, the Labor Department reported that unemployment rose to 8.9%, the highest level in 25 years.

U.S. wholesale prices also rose in April, led by rising food costs. This is a weird fact because it indicates that we are not spiraling into deflation, but it doesn't help the average person. The increase was led by the price of eggs, beef and milk. The price of gas rose by 2.6% but residential fuel costs eased.

Continue reading U.S. jobless claims rose 32,000 to 637,000

U.S. jobless claims rose 32,000 to 637,000 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 May 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Has the sharp increase in layoffs finally peaked?

Has the sharp increase in layoffs finally peaked? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 May 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Profit taking is actually possible (COF, CSCO, SIRI, SYMC, VG, WMT)

Closing Bell: Profit taking is actually possible (COF, CSCO, SIRI, SYMC, VG, WMT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 May 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: An IPO, Banks & Tech, all killing the bears (JPM, RST, SBUX, LUV, RF)

Closing Bell: An IPO, Banks & Tech, all killing the bears (JPM, RST, SBUX, LUV, RF) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil jumps over 5% as traders take a positive stance on the economy

Oil jumps over 5% as traders take a positive stance on the economy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading March payrolls fall by 663,000, unemployment jumps to 8.5%

March payrolls fall by 663,000, unemployment jumps to 8.5% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to the Labor Department, initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000 last week. Last week's advance pushed the total number of claims (669,000) to the highest level since October 1982.

Moreover, the 669,000 claims are up 72% from the same period last year. The four-week average of initial claims increased 6,500 to 656,750; hitting its highest point since October 1982.

For the week ending March 21, the number of people collecting state unemployment benefits increased 161,000 to 5.73 million. Not only is this level 96% higher than a year ago, but it is also a new record (should we sound bells and whistles?).

Continue reading New record for jobless claims

New record for jobless claims originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Factory orders fall for a fifth straight month

Factory orders fall for a fifth straight month originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The deflation drumbeat continues. As prices drop, businesses produce less and they cut the people doing the producing. With the exception of stocks and oil, it seems that nowhere are prices falling faster than in houses -- slashing $10 trillion in consumer wealth. And the spike in foreclosures adds more supply to the market for houses, just as demand keeps falling.

The foreclosure forecasts and initial unemployment claims figures released today are indeed sobering. The spike in foreclosures is expected to come from Pay Option mortgages, which let borrowers pay less than they owe each month and add that amount into the principal. But the Pay Option resets the rate upward when the new principal rises above 110% of the original amount.

Thanks in part to a 63% -- or $1,053 -- monthly increase in the current $1,672 average payment, foreclosures are expected to rise 125% to 3.6 million by 2010 over the three million that have occurred since 2006. Meanwhile, initial applications for jobless benefits rose to 573,000 in the week ending December 6 -- 9% more than the expected 525,000 -- from 515,000 the week before.

If this is what an Ownership Society is all about, maybe it's time to forget about Ownership and create an Affordership Society where people live within their means instead of borrowing to buy things they can't really afford.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

Foreclosures to rise 125% by 2010; jobless claims at 26-year high originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

To provide further fuel for the economic fire, jobless claims in the first week of November were higher than they have been since September 2001. My hunch is that the current recession will be worse than the one in 2001. And the reason is that the 2001 recession was an equity-led recession, while the current recession is debt-led.

How bad are the jobless statistics? Initial jobless claims grew by 32,000 to a larger-than-forecast 516,000 in the week ended November 8th, up 7% from a revised 484,000 the prior week. Big banks, which have already fired 150,000 people, recently announced an additional 12,000 layoffs.

Why is this recession so much worse than the one in 2001? As I posted in January -- when I suggested then that investors get out of stocks -- equity-led recessions limit their damage to people and companies that own over-valued stock. But debt-led ones blow up a bigger bubble that forces the rapid sale of collateral -- like houses, cars, stocks, and other assets -- thus driving down prices and creating a vicious cycle of closing businesses and firing people.

That's not good for an economy that depends on consumer spending for 70% of its growth.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book, You Can't Order Change: Lessons From Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing, will be published by Portfolio on December 26, 2008.

Jobless claims at highest level since 1983 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fresh statistics reveal an economy that is in grim shape -- and just in time for the election. Jobless claims are higher than they have been since September 2001 and factory orders plunged 4%. If we elect the McCain whose chief economic advisor thinks we're whiners, we can keep this streak going for another four years.

The economic statistics are grim. Initial jobless claims were higher than they've been in seven years. They increased 1,000 to 497,000 last week thanks in part to Gulf Coast hurricanes and staff cuts due to low demand. Meanwhile, the 4% decline in factory orders was worse than anticipated. Economists had forecast a 3% drop after a previously reported 1.3% increase in July. Why so bad? With banks reluctant to lend, companies can't get the funds they need to buy that factory equipment.

Could we be getting whitewashed economic statistics? If GDP growth is reported as positive for the recently departed third quarter, I will be surprised. If you like the effects of deregulation and tax cuts on our economy, there is ample opportunity to keep those policies firmly in place for four more years. With the S&P 500 down 22% so far this year, I am not sure who can afford to vote that way.

But congratulations are in order for their ability to prosper under such difficult economic conditions.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

Economic collapse is upon us: Can we afford four more years? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.