Submitted by Businomics Blog
Hollywood has said that it’s recession proof, because in hard times people will seek escape from their worries by going to the movies.  The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports a new study that found just the opposite–when time are tough, people skip the movie-popcorn-soda expense.  Perhaps they watch a movie on […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by The Capital Spectator
The Labor Department brings more bad news this morning. The short summary: new filings for unemployment benefits rose again last week, as did the rolls of those previously collecting jobless benefits.
As our first chart below reminds, the trend in jobless claims continues to deteriorate, which is to say that the population […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
The summer rally for the U.S. dollar continued, as the Broad Dollar Index went above 73 today for the first time since mid-February (see graph above). Today’s index of 73.05 is 4.35% above the level of 70 in mid-July.
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.

Rating 3.00 out […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
USA Today – The Labor Department said Thursday that new applications for unemployment insurance rose a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 455,000 for the week ended Aug. 2, the highest level since March 2002.
The latest snapshot of layoff filings is worse than analysts expected. Economists were expecting claims to drop to around 430,000.
The […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

The top chart above shows initial jobless claims (4-week moving average) and the civilian labor force from 1987 to July 2008. The labor force has increased by 30% since 1987, so the frequent comparisons of today’s jobless claims of around 419,500 (4-week moving average, see today’s BLS report) to previous periods and […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM

When a heavy metal door swung over her 14-year-old son’s foot, ripping the nail almost completely off his big toe, Tina Mobley didn’t want to take her chances in a crowded hospital emergency room or wait for an appointment at the pediatrician’s office the next day. Instead, she drove to an urgent-care […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
…building a portfolio around index funds isn’t really settling for average. It’s just refusing to believe in magic.
~Fortune, 1999

A number of smart people are involved in running hedge funds. But to a great extent their efforts are self-neutralizing, and their IQ will not overcome the costs they impose on investors. Investors, on […]

continue reading.....

Submitted by CARPE DIEM
The U.S. dollar index for major currencies (data here) came close to a 6-month high yesterday, reaching the highest level since mid-February. Forward markets are pricing the dollar at $1.9071/BP (+2.24% premium) and $1.5166/Euro in one year (+1.64% premium), vs. $1.9507/BP and $1.5419/Euro currently.
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our […]

continue reading.....