Economic stabilization affirmed

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Apr 14, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments Good morning everyone! Today saw the publishing of the March retail sales data.  The Commerce Department reported this morning that consumers increased their spending on retail goods and services by 1.6%.  This is the largest gain since the Christmas season and the figure exceeded economist estimates for an increaes of 1.3% up. Separately, U.S. consumer prices were up 0.1% in March. Analysis: As...
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Those wily Europeans – sayin’ somethin’ but doin’ nothin’

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Apr 11, 2010 in Blog | 1 comment This morning details of a Greek debt bailout package were announced by EU finance ministers.  If Greece is unable to raise funds in capital markets then the EU might elect to lend the troubled-nation €30 billion in loans at an interest rate of 5%.   Analysis: In previous postings on this blog, I heavily criticized the EU for including no details of any proposed bailout plan.  Effectively...
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Downgrading of Greek debt puts strain on EU

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Apr 9, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments Debt issued by Greece has been downgraded by credit ratings agency, Fitch.  This means that debt issued by the country is more risky.  In response to the credit downgrade many holders of Greek debt sold their interests, meaning that yields increased.  This also means that any future debt issued by Greece will be at the new higher rates, straining the government’s ability to maintain its...
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Wholesaler economic data

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Apr 9, 2010 in Blog | 3 comments Today saw the release of several positive economic numbers for U.S. wholesalers. First, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that wholesaler inventories in February grew by 0.6%.  Second, also in Februay, wholesaler sales were up by 0.8%. Analysis: That sales outstripped growth in inventories means that demand exceeded supply in February.  This is a positive sign of economic growth.  Note...
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Quiet before the storm?

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Apr 9, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments Happy Friday everyone! I have not posted in a week because there really has not been much to comment on in terms of business activity, the economy, or investing.  However, today marks a return to posting, mostly because next week kicks off the first quarter earnings season.  What can we expect? It’s my feeling that businesses will largely meet the earnings expectations that analysts have...
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Unemployment rate stays the same

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Apr 2, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments The Department of Labor this morning released its payroll figures for the previous month.  The data show that the United States added 162,000 jobs in March, the most jobs since three years ago in March.  A group of economists had expected the economy to add 200,000 jobs.  However, despite 162,000 jobs being added as reported by the DoL, the unemployment rate as reported by the Bureau of...
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Best economic news in months

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Apr 1, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments The major auto makers today announced sales results for the month of March (as compared to one year ago) and the data are very encouraging: Nissan…up 43% Toyota…up 41% Ford…up 40% Honda…up 22% GM…up 21% Hyundai…up 15% Some car companies posted drops so the overall rise was tempered slightly, but still strong, up 25% over one year ago. Analysis: Folks, this is...
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