Posts Tagged ‘jobs’
Bernanke’s Labor Market Speech – The Case for Continued Accommodative Policy
Ben Bernanke made a highly referenced speech earlier this week, credited with fueling a sharp rally in the stock market. The speech is colorfully titled: “Recent Developments in the Labor Market” and is a worthwhile read for investors and those interested in the US economy. The speech highlights a growing controversy in the labor market…
Read MoreLack of Confidence – A Key Driver of Investment Returns in 2011 – An Opportunity and Risk for 2012
2011 has been a difficult year for most investors. Market sentiment oscillated throughout the year and generating returns has been exceedingly difficult to come by, let alone maintain. The world experienced at least three distinct crisis; Japanese nuclear disaster, Arab Spring, and Sovereign Debt contagion through Europe. All three of these events were enough to…
Read MoreExcesses Cause Recession – A Comparison of 2008 and 2011
Recessions are typically caused by some sort of an excess. Real economic activity stretches too far and the subsequent unwind causes a retrenchment via a sudden and abrupt change in business and household behavior. There have been a number of excesses that have built up in the global economy over the past couple of decades.…
Read MoreStrong Labor Market Data Point – Unemployment Claims Solid Despite Department of Labor Explanation
In a curious press release, the Department of Labor came out this morning and highlighted some atypical calendar alignments for the unemployment claims data which make it more difficult for the government to adjust the not seasonally adjusted claims data for seasonal changes. As a result, the seasonally adjusted claims data fell by 37k to…
Read MoreObama’s American Jobs Act Speech – Implications for Markets
The S&P 500 futures were about unchanged heading into his speech and at last glance they were down 3 points – but this may be due to the 9/11 anniversary terror threat announcement more so than anything said in the speech. I come away moderately encouraged by Obama’s speech tonight. He stated at the outset…
Read MoreCharles Evans Dual Mandate Responsibilities Speech – Goes Too Far
Yesterday, Charles Evans who is the ninth president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a voting member on the FOMC, gave a speech at the European Economics and Financial Center in London. This speech goes too far with starting to push the Fed towards more stimulus as the returns from additional stimulus diminish.…
Read MoreWhy Can’t We Create Jobs?
I’ve been holding a constructive view on the economy and markets for a number of reasons. The economy isn’t as soft as has been presented and market valuations are extremely low for a non-recessionary environment (if that is indeed the environment we are in). Today’s Employment Report was downright ugly. Being constructive, I could search…
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