Stressed out banks?

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Sep 1, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments In a piece of news that was not widely reported, the Federal Deposit Insurance Company announced the number of banks that were on its “problem list” at the end of the second quarter.  In short, 829 banks of ~7,800 were on the list.  Most importantly, that 829 figure was an increase of 775 from the number that were on the list at the end of the first quarter.  So far 2010 has seen 118...
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Consumer confidence improves in August

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Aug 31, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments The Conference Board reported this morning that U.S. consumer confidence rose to a 53.5 level from a (revised) July level of 51.0.  Also important, consumer expectations for future economic activity rebounded up to 72.5 from July’s depressing 67.5. Analysis:  Because the axis of my blog commentary for many months now has been the mood of the U.S. consumer there really isn’t much to...
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Home prices up again

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Aug 31, 2010 in Blog | 1 comment Standard & Poors’ Case-Shiller Index of home prices was up for the third consecutive month in June.  Specifically they were up 3.6%. Analysis: Many news headlines are reporting the data in the worst light possible by pointing out that this is the first time in 16 months that the rise was less than the month prior’s data.  Big deal!  That home prices are rising faster than the...
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Self-fulfilling prophecies – GDP revised down again

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Aug 27, 2010 in Blog | 1 comment This morning the U.S. Commerce Department revised second quarter gross domestic product down to 1.6% growth from its previously reported 2.4% figure. Analysis: Normally I don’t address revised figures on the blog other than to point out that most data are thinly estimated at first and then revised for months, and in the case of GDP years, afterward.  What is important typically is the...
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Under the microscope again – jobless claims

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Aug 26, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments This morning saw the weekly jobless claims data reported by the Department of Labor.  Claims fell by 31,000 to a level of 473,000.  This exceeds the expected drop of only 10,000.  The four-week moving average rose by 3,250 to 486,750. Analysis: Clearly this is a good sign.  All of the “chicken littles” have been predicting continued doom and gloom in the economy.  A continued weak...
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What acquisitions mean right now

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Aug 23, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments Good morning everyone!  I hope that each of you had an excellent weekend.  Today I wanted to write about the high number of mergers/acquisitions that are either taking place or being discussed by businesses.  In particular, what does that mean? First of all, let me document some of the acquisition announcements in the news currently… Dell is attempting to buy data-storage company 3-Par....
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Turning the corner into a bad neighborhood

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Aug 20, 2010 in Blog | 1 comment Last week U.S. jobless claims rose to levels not seen since November of last year.  Specifically, the Department of Labor reported yesterday that folks newly filing for unemployment benefits rose by 12,000 last week to a level of 500,000. What about the four-week moving average?  Jobless claims rose by 8,000 to 482,500, their highest level since December of last year. Average: Clearly this is...
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