This week we turn the calendar page, and that change brings with it a raft of economic data. Scheduled for release on Monday are pending home sales and personal income numbers for January, as well as the Chicago PMI and car and truck sales data for February.

On Tuesday, look for the ISM Manufacturing Index for February and construction spending numbers for January. That's followed on Wednesday by the week's first employment data: the Challenger Job-Cuts announcement and the ADP employment report for February. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver his semiannual monetary policy testimony before Congress on both days.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Retail Earnings, Bernanke Testimony

Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Retail Earnings, Bernanke Testimony originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Black Friday has come and gone and the holiday shopping season is off and running. In addition to keeping on eye on how retailers are doing, there will be plenty of other economic data for analysts and investors to peruse on this week.

• Monday: Chicago Fed's Midwest Manufacturing Index
• Tuesday: Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, S&P/Case-Schiller Home Price Index for Q3, Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index

Continue reading Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Fed's Beige Book, Canadian Banks

Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Fed's Beige Book, Canadian Banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Nov 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Alcoa (AA), Marriott (MAR) and Yum! Brands (YUM) kick off the new earnings season this week. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for moderate year-over-year earnings and revenue growth in the third quarter from each of these dividend payers.

Note that Marriott and Yum! Brands have exceeded consensus estimates in recent quarters and have First Call consensus buy recommendations as well. They are also trading near their 52-week highs, while Alcoa shares are closer to the 52-week low despite a 22% rise in the past three months.

Continue reading Week in Preview: New Earnings Season, Employment Data and More

Week in Preview: New Earnings Season, Employment Data and More originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investors nervous about the possibly stalled economic recovery -- or worse, the beginning of the latter phase of a double-dip recession -- were not pleased with last week's housing numbers. Things were perhaps ameliorated somewhat by durable goods order numbers and a revised GDP that weren't as bad as expected, but that didn't stop the Dow from dipping below 10,000 later in the week, before fighting its way back above the benchmark to end the week, thanks largely to Fed chair Bernanke's comments on Friday.

Though the end of August is usually quiet, this week lots more economic data are due out, including more housing numbers: The Case-Shiller Home Price Index for June on Tuesday, construction spending numbers for July on Wednesday, and NAR's pending home sales for July on Thursday. There's not expected to be much to get excited about in these numbers.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Employment, Housing, Manufacturing, Earnings Expectations

The Week in Preview: Employment, Housing, Manufacturing, Earnings Expectations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The New York Fed's factory gauge decreased to -2.7 this month from +10.1 in July.
• Shipments fell to -11.5 from +6.3.
• The manufacturers outlook index fell to its lowest level since July 2009.

Continue reading Factory Orders Nosedive; Builder Sentiment Plummets

Factory Orders Nosedive; Builder Sentiment Plummets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pending home sales rose 21.1% in March over 2009 numbers. The big driver was the expiration of the first time home buyer credit. Contracts had to be signed by the end of March to qualify. Nevertheless, these numbers are encouraging.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAT)' index stood at 102.9, up 5.3% It should be noted that pending sales lead existing sales by one to two months.

Separately, the Commerce Department released their numbers on manufactured goods. Excluding defense, factory orders were up 1.3%. Non defense capital goods, excluding aircraft were up 4.5%

Continue reading Pending Home Sales Surge 21.1% in March

Pending Home Sales Surge 21.1% in March originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 May 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The so-called cruelest month has begun. And this coming week's economic calendar for the U.S. starts off with the ISM nonmanufacturer's survey results for April and NAR's pending home sales for February on Monday morning. This glimpse at the service and housing sectors will be followed by March's consumer credit numbers Monday afternoon. Then things are pretty quiet until Friday's release of factory orders and wholesale trade numbers for February.

Between the Monday and Friday economic numbers will come the release on Tuesday of the minutes of the March 16 FOMC meeting, a record of the Fed's most recent thinking on monetary policy.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: A Quiet Start to the Cruelest Month

The Week in Preview: A Quiet Start to the Cruelest Month originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Apr 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As my colleague Melly Alazraki mentioned this morning, factory order data recently graced the Street. According to the government, factory orders increased 0.6% in February. This data gave the bulls a bit of encouragement, as the major indices began to climb off of their morning lows. Unfortunately, this news appears to be one of the lone bright spots in the day's data.

The Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) reflected a drop to 58.8% from 62.6%. While a drop was expected, this decline was larger than expected. Experts called for a slip to 59.9%.

Continue reading Factory Orders Bolster the Bulls

Factory Orders Bolster the Bulls originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Commerce Department reported that factory orders for December rose more than expected. Here are the numbers:

• Orders for durable goods rose 1%. The government had estimated a rise of 0.3% for December. Durables last for several years.
• Bookings for capital goods, a measure of future business investment, rose 2.2%, after a rise of 3.2%.
• Shipments of those goods rose 2.1%. These shipments are used to calculate GDP.
• The economy expanded 5.7% in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in six years.
• Purchases of equipment and software increased 13%, the highest since 2006.
• On the negative side, new claims for unemployment rose to 480,000.
• The Institute for Supply Management report showed manufacturing in January expanded at the fastest pace in five years.
• Greater demand for notebooks and desktop computers fueled record sales for hard drives.

While these numbers are tame, the fact that we have slow, steady progress increases business and consumer confidence.

Much of the change in the economy is psychological. As we see steady improvement quarter over quarter, confidence gets restored, business replenishes inventories and consumers are buying again.

Do you believe that we are on the road to recovery?

Factory Orders Rose More Than Expected in December originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:00:00 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.

Continue reading November U.S. factory orders plunge 4.6%

November U.S. factory orders plunge 4.6% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's a look at what's on the economic calendar for the week of January 5, 2009:

• Construction spending (Nov. 2008): Monday, 10:00 AM
• Ford Motor Co. U.S. sales (Dec. 2008): Monday, 1:00 PM
• New motor vehicle sales (Dec. 2008): Monday, 4:00 PM
• Factory orders (Nov. 2008): Tuesday, 10:00 AM
• Pending home sales (Nov. 2008): Tuesday, 10:00 AM
• ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey (Dec. 2008): Tuesday, 10:00 AM
• Monster Employment Index (Dec. 2008): Wednesday, 6:00 AM
• Challenger job-cut announcement (Dec. 2008): Wednesday, 7:30 AM
• Public debt (Dec. 2008): Wednesday, 3:00 PM
• Consumer credit (Nov. 2008): Thursday, 3:00 PM
• Employment situation (Dec. 2008): Friday, 8:30 AM
• Wholesale trade (Nov. 2008): Friday, 10:00 AM

For expectations from some of this week's earnings releases, see The week in preview: Family Dollar, Bed Bath & Beyond, KB Home, and others.

Employment, motor vehicle sales, consumer credit on this week's schedule originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Money makes the world go round and its absence stops it in its tracks. Three important economic statistics reveal how important borrowing money is to the global economy. Borrowing is so critical, that its evaporation reveals a key economic insight -- prices are higher than customers can afford to pay out of their own pockets. This suggests three ways to get the economy moving: let prices fall to the level where customers can pay without borrowing; boost customers' income; or reopen the credit spigots. I'd vote for option one.

The bad statistics are in factory orders, auto sales and retail sales. Factory orders fell by 2.5% in September, four times faster than the 0.7% drop analysts expected. Automobile sales plunged more than they have in the last 25 years -- for example, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) sales fell 45% in October. And retail sales are expected to fall 0.1% in October -- the weakest same-store sales result ever registered since Thomson Reuters began collecting estimates in 2000.

What a glorious economic mess the 43rd president is dropping into the lap of our 44th. All these contractions in sales share a common theme -- when companies and people can borrow money at low rates, they can afford to buy things. But when that credit dries up, their cash flows "from operations" are too small to close the deals.

Continue reading Lack of credit stops world from going round

Lack of credit stops world from going round originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Factory orders increased 0.6% in May, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday, on rising demand for computers and defense equipment. It was the third consecutive monthly rise in factory orders, the Commerce Department said. Excluding the often-volatile transportation component, factory orders increased 0.4%.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected May factory orders to increase by 0.6%. Factory orders increased a revised 1.3% in April.

Economists follow the factory orders statistic because it provides one of the most comprehensive surveys of advance orders for durable goods -- how busy factories are likely to be in the period ahead. Factory orders also are a major value-added component of the U.S. economy.

In May, new orders rose 1.2%, bookings increased 0.6%, shipments rose 0.1%, and unfilled orders increased 0.1%. Also, the inventories-to-shipments ratio was virtually unchanged in May at 1.23, compared to 1.22 in April.

Continue reading May U.S. factory orders rise 0.6%, in-line with estimate

May U.S. factory orders rise 0.6%, in-line with estimate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

April U.S. factory orders unexpectedly jump 1.1% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading March U.S. factory orders rise 1.4%, much better than expected

March U.S. factory orders rise 1.4%, much better than expected originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 May 2008 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected February 2008 factor orders to decline 0.6%. Factory orders declined by a revised 2.3% in January 2008. Economists follow the factory orders statistic because it provides one of the most comprehensive surveys of advance orders for durable goods -- how busy factories are likely to be in the period ahead. Factory orders also are a major value-added component of the U.S. economy.

Also, in March 2008 shipments fell 2.1%, durable goods orders fell 1.1%, and new orders declined 1.1%.

Continue reading February U.S. factory orders drop as businesses continue to cut investment

February U.S. factory orders drop as businesses continue to cut investment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Factory orders fell 2.5% in January 2008, after a revised 2% increase in December 2007. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected factory orders to decrease 2.6% in January 2008.

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, factory orders declined 0.4%.

Durable goods orders fell a revised 5.1%, compared with the prior estimate of a 5.3% decline. Core capital equipment orders fell 1.5%. Orders for non-durable goods rose 0.3%.

Inventories of manufactured durable goods increased 0.6%, and have risen in six of the last seven months. Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods increased a revised 0.7%, and have increased in 32 of the last 33 months. Shipments increased 2%, following two consecutive monthly decreases.

Continue reading U.S. factory orders decline 2.5% in January, better than forecast

U.S. factory orders decline 2.5% in January, better than forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Factory orders increase 2.3% in December, in-line with estimate

Factory orders increase 2.3% in December, in-line with estimate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.