by Calculated Risk on 3/04/2015 10:40:00 AM

The Federal Reserve released the transcripts for the 2009 FOMC meetings today. Here is SF Fed President Janet Yellen in June 2009:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At our meeting in late April, we had begun to see hopeful signs of impending economic recovery, and subsequent economic and financial developments have strengthened the view that the economy is bottoming out. Even so, the outlook over the next several years remains disturbing. My modal forecast shows economic growth resuming next quarter, but I expect the recovery to be quite gradual. The output and employment gaps are, at a minimum, quite large, so it will take a long time to regain full employment under current monetary and fiscal policy settings. Although downside risks have diminished, I remain concerned that the recovery is still fragile.
...
And, of course, labor markets continue to deteriorate badly. It’s a sign of how bad things really are that near euphoria broke out with the announcement of 345,000 nonfarm jobs lost in May. The unemployment rate is soaring month by month, and, even worse, it appears to understate the true extent of the deterioration, given the unusually high incidence of permanent, as opposed to temporary, layoffs, and the unprecedented increase in involuntary part-time work. ...

My forecasts for output and employment are similar to the Greenbook’s, so I won’t go into the details. I do want to emphasize that I anticipate a rather sluggish recovery, not the rapid V-shaped recovery we have frequently seen following deep recessions in the past. The process of balance sheet repair that households and financial institutions are undergoing will result in subdued spending for an extended period, and monetary policies here and abroad are not able to play as big a role as usual in promoting recovery because of the constraint of the zero lower bound on short-term interest rates.

... [E]ven under the typical recovery simulation, which has much stronger growth than in the baseline, the unemployment rate remains well above the 5 percent NAIRU by the end of 2011, and inflation hovers around 1 percent. This outcome reflects the large unemployment and GDP gaps estimated for the first quarter. ...

So, to conclude, if the recovery is as slow as the Greenbook and I expect, it will take quite a number of years to get back to potential output. As a result, I expect core inflation to drift lower over the next few years, falling below the 2 percent rate that seems best to me.

Note that Yellen correctly forecast that the recovery was starting (this was June 2009), but that the recovery would be sluggish - not V-shaped - because of the need for "balance sheet repair" (I made the same argument in mid-2009), and that inflation would be low for some time. Many analysts were forecasting a strong recovery (ignoring the reasons for the recessions) and high inflation.

by Calculated Risk on 3/04/2015 10:00:00 AM

The February ISM Non-manufacturing index was at 56.9%, up from 56.7% in January. The employment index increased in February to 56.4%, up from 51.6% in January. Note: Above 50 indicates expansion, below 50 contraction.

From the Institute for Supply Management: February 2015 Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®

Economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in February for the 61st consecutive month, say the nation’s purchasing and supply executives in the latest Non-Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Anthony Nieves, CPSM, C.P.M., CFPM, chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "The NMI® registered 56.9 percent in February, 0.2 percentage point higher than the January reading of 56.7 percent. This represents continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector. The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 59.4 percent, which is 2.1 percentage points lower than the January reading of 61.5 percent, reflecting growth for the 67th consecutive month at a slower rate. The New Orders Index registered 56.7 percent, 2.8 percentage points lower than the reading of 59.5 percent registered in January. The Employment Index increased 4.8 percentage points to 56.4 percent from the January reading of 51.6 percent and indicates growth for the 12th consecutive month. The Prices Index increased 4.2 percentage points from the January reading of 45.5 percent to 49.7 percent, indicating prices contracted in February for the third consecutive month. According to the NMI®, 14 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in February. Comments from respondents have increased in regards to the affects of the reduction in fuel costs and the impact of the West Coast port labor issues on the continuity of supply. Overall, supply managers feel mostly positive about the direction of the economy."
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the ISM non-manufacturing index (started in January 2008) and the ISM non-manufacturing employment diffusion index.

This was close to the consensus forecast of 56.5% and suggests slightly faster expansion in February than in January.  Overall this was a solid report.

by Calculated Risk on 3/04/2015 08:19:00 AM

From ADP:

Private sector employment increased by 212,000 jobs from January to February according to the February ADP National Employment Report®. ... The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
...
Goods-producing employment rose by 31,000 jobs in February, down from 45,000 jobs gained in January. The construction industry added 31,000 jobs, the same number as last month. Meanwhile, manufacturing added 3,000 jobs in February, well below January’s 15,000.

Service-providing employment rose by 181,000 jobs in February, down from 206,000 in January. ...

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “Job growth is strong, but slowing from the torrid pace of recent months. Job gains remain broad-based, although the collapse in oil prices has begun to weigh on energy-related employment. At the current pace of growth, the economy will return to full employment by mid-2016.”

This was below the consensus forecast for 220,000 private sector jobs added in the ADP report. 

The BLS report for February will be released on Friday and the consensus is for 230,000 non-farm payroll jobs added in February.

by Calculated Risk on 3/04/2015 07:00:00 AM

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Little Changed in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

Mortgage applications increased 0.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 27, 2015. ...

The Refinance Index increased 1 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.2 percent from one week earlier.
...
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 3.96 percent from 3.99 percent, with points decreasing to 0.30 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.


The first graph shows the refinance index.

2014 was the lowest year for refinance activity since year 2000.

2015 will probably see more refinance activity than in 2014, but not a large refinance boom.

The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.  

According to the MBA, the unadjusted purchase index is essentially unchanged from a year ago.

by Calculated Risk on 3/03/2015 07:11:00 PM

Wednesday:
• At 7:00 AM ET, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

• At 8:15 AM, the ADP Employment Report for February. This report is for private payrolls only (no government). The consensus is for 220,000 payroll jobs added in February, up from 213,000 in January.

• At 10:00 AM, the ISM non-Manufacturing Index for February. The consensus is for a reading of 56.5, down from 56.7 in January. Note: Above 50 indicates expansion.

• At 2:00 PM, Federal Reserve Beige Book, an informal review by the Federal Reserve Banks of current economic conditions in their Districts.