Payrolls Grow by 108,000
Jan 06, 9:06 AM EST |
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| U.S. unemployment rate drops to 4.9% in December while November payrolls were revised higher. |
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| Job growth in the U.S decelerated in December to 108,000 although the unemployment rate went down unexpectedly to 4.9%, the Labor Department announced. The seasonally adjusted growth in nonfarm payrolls was less than the anticipated 205,000, but upward revisions to prior months totaling 71,000 put total payrolls near the expected level of 134.5 million. |
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Crude Inventories Improve
Jan 06, 6:59 AM EST |
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| The Energy Department said distillate inventories jumped by 2.1 million barrels to 128.9 million in the week ended Dec. 30. |
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| The commercial inventories of crude oil in the United States declined by 1 million barrels last week while the stocks of oil products increased. The departments reported that the inventory of motor gasoline increased by 1.4 million barrels last week to 204.3 million barrels, but 6 % below year ago level. |
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Jobless Claims Fall to 5-Year Low
Jan 05, 8:49 AM EST |
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| Filing for U.S. state unemployment benefits dropped by 35,000 to a seasonally adjusted 291,000 in the week ending Dec. 31. |
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| The Labor Department cautioned that the initial claims data are very volatile this time of year because of holidays and the large expected swings in seasonal employment. The government is trying to adjust the data for those factors. The four-week average of new claims, fell by 9,750 to 316,750, the lowest since Aug. 20. The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Dec. 24 were in Michigan, while the largest decreases were in North Carolina. |
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Big 3 Auto Sales Fall in December
Jan 05, 7:30 AM EST |
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| The auto industry ended 2005 with U.S. market share continuing to slip from U.S. automakers to their Asian competitors. |
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| General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG reported lower U.S. auto sales for a third straight month as Asian automakers led by Toyota Motor Corp. gained market share and pushed auto sales to a full-year gain. |
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November Factory Orders up 2.5%
Jan 05, 6:35 AM EST |
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| Orders for U.S.-made factory goods advanced 2.5% in November, following a nearly 16% jump in demand for transportation equipment. |
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| Shipments of nondurable goods were up 0.4%, in spite of a 5% decline in petroleum shipments. Shipments of chemicals rose 2.4%. The rise in factory orders was slightly higher than the 2.3% gain expected by analysts. If not for the 15.8% rise in transportation-equipment orders, manufacturing orders were flat in November. Orders for motor-vehicle bodies, parts and trailers dropped 7.8%. Orders for durable goods increased 4.4%, while inventories rose 0.2%. |
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FOMC Feels Economy Close to Perfect Landing
Jan 04, 8:27 AM EST |
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| The FOMC voted unanimously last month to raise the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points for a 13th straight time to 4.25%. |
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| With the Federal Reserve''''s 18-month tightening cycle pushing interest rates to a more neutral level and with inflation worries waning, policymakers differed at last month''''s meeting on how many more rate increases would be needed, according to the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee''''s Dec. 13 meeting. |
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ISM Factory Index Falls in Dec
Jan 04, 7:48 AM EST |
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| Factory activity in the United States slowed down in December after strong readings in the past three months. |
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| The ISM index dropped to 54.2% in December from 58.1% in November. This is the biggest monthly fall since July 2002. The drop was greater than expected. Analysts’ estimates were for a modest decline in the index to 57.6% in December. The decline was natural after three strong months. The factory sector retains significant momentum going into 2006. |
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Construction Spending Rises 0.2%
Jan 04, 7:12 AM EST |
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| U.S. construction projects spending advanced 0.2% in November, the smallest increase since June. |
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| Spending on private nonresidential projects increased 0.6%. Private residential spending remained unchanged, the weakest since June. Spending by the public sector rose 0.3%. The 0.2% rise in total construction spending was weaker than the 1% gain anticipated by analysts. Spending in October was revised higher to a 0.8% rise from 0.7% previously. |
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The First Week Powers the Year Ahead
Jan 02, 8:44 AM EST |
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| The first week of January is a storied week on Wall Street, deemed so important that its results can forecast the gains or losses for the entire year. |
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| The first week of the year may also begin with traders following their hearts and end with them following their heads.The stock market is likely to have a subdued start to the year as traders react first to the inability of the Dow Jones industrial average to hang on to a gain for 2005. The loss last week, resulting in a decline of 0.6 % for the Dow last year, will affect sentiment going into the week. |
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