by Calculated Risk on 1/17/2012 03:21:00 PM

The following graphs are for inbound and outbound traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in TEUs (TEUs: 20-foot equivalent units or 20-foot-long cargo container).

Although containers tell us nothing about value, container traffic does give us an idea of the volume of goods being exported and imported - and possible hints about the trade report for November. LA area ports handle about 40% of the nation's container port traffic.

To remove the strong seasonal component for inbound traffic, the first graph shows the rolling 12 month average.

Click on graph for larger image.

On a rolling 12 month basis, inbound traffic is up 0.2% from November, and outbound traffic is up 0.1%.

On a rolling 12 month basis, outbound traffic is moving "sideways" for the last couple of months, and it appears inbound traffic has halted the recent decline.

The 2nd graph is the monthly data (with a strong seasonal pattern for imports).

For the month of December, loaded inbound traffic was up 2% compared to December 2010, and loaded outbound traffic was up 1% compared to December 2010.

Exports have been increasing, although the rate of increase has slowed.

Imports have been somewhat soft - this is the first month with a year-over-year increase since May 2011.

All current trade graphs

by Calculated Risk on 1/17/2012 01:35:00 PM

This report is only for Southern California, but it contains useful information for analyzing the housing market. Over half the sales in SoCal were distressed in December (foreclosures and short sales), over one quarter of the sales were to absentee owners (usually investors), and new home sales were at a record low in December. Note: DataQuick reports new home sales at closing and the Census Bureau reports when contracts are signed - so this is for contracts signed last six months ago.

From DataQuick: Southland December Home Sales, Prices Fall Short of a Year Earlier

Southern California home sales surged last month from November – as they normally do – amid relatively strong activity under $300,000 and a record share of sales to “absentee” buyers, mainly investors. ... A total of 19,247 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in December. That was up 14.0 percent from 16,884 in November but down 1.4 percent from 19,528 in December 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.
...
While December sales of existing (not new) houses and condos combined fell 0.5 percent from a year earlier, sales of newly built homes fell 12.0 percent year-over-year, to the lowest level on record for a December.

“Last year ended much the way it began, with pitifully low new-home sales, record investor activity, drum-tight credit, and lots of potential buyers and sellers just sitting tight,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.
...
Distressed property sales accounted for 52.5 percent of the Southland resale market last month, up from 51.2 percent in November but down from 53.8 percent a year earlier. Nearly one out of three homes resold last month was a foreclosure, while about one in five was a “short sale.”
...
Absentee buyers, mainly investors and vacation-home buyers, purchased a record 26.4 percent of the Southland homes sold in December, paying a median $200,000. ... The December absentee figure was up from 25.1 percent in November and up from 23.4 percent a year earlier.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will report December existing home sales on Friday. The consensus is for sales of 4.6 million on seasonally adjusted annual rate basis.

Economist Tom Lawler estimates the NAR will report sales of 4.64 million, up about 5% from November’s pace. He also expects the NAR to report inventory declined to around 2.44 million, down 5.4% from November and down 19.2% from last December. This would put months-of-supply at around 6.3 months (lowest since early 2006), and would put listed inventory at the lowest level since early-2005.

by Calculated Risk on 1/17/2012 12:05:00 PM

As we've discussed, there are several possible channels of contagion from the European financial crisis. The most obvious is the trade channel. The recession in Europe appears to already be negatively impacting U.S. exports. The most recent trade report showed exports to eurozone countries declined 6.9% in November. Although Europe is a major U.S. trading partner, exports only make up a small portion of U.S. GDP, and the drag from lower exports will be minimal.

A more significant channel would be tightening of U.S. credit conditions in response to the European crisis. I will look closely at the Fed’s January Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices that will be released at the end of the month. The October survey showed “considerable” tightening on lending to European banks, and some tightening to European firms, but the survey showed no significant additional tightening in the U.S.

Since the most significant channel will probably be credit stress, here are a few indicators of credit stress:

• The three month LIBOR has decreased:

Data from the British Bankers' Association showed the three-month dollar London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, was fixed at 0.56230%, down from 0.56490% Monday. ... The spread between the three-month dollar Libor and overnight index swaps, a barometer of market stress, was unchanged at 48 basis points.

The three-month LIBOR rate peaked during the crisis at 4.81875% on Oct 10, 2008. This increased last year, but has mostly been sideways since then.

• The TED spread is at 0.537. The TED spread is the difference between the three month T-bill and the LIBOR interest rate. This peaked in December at 0.581 and has declined slightly since then. The 5 year graph shows that recent increase in comparison to the U.S. financial crisis in 2008.

Here is a screen shot of the TED spread from Bloomberg.

Click on graph for larger image.

The peak was 4.63 on Oct 10, 2008. A normal spread is around 0.5.

• The A2P2 spread as at 0.39. This spread is mostly moving sideways, and is far below the peak of the financial crisis of 5.86.

This is the spread between high and low quality 30 day nonfinancial commercial paper. Right now high quality 30 day nonfinancial paper is yielding close to zero.

• The two year swap spread screen shot from Bloomberg. This spread has declined to 34.3.

This spread peaked at near 165 in early October 2008.

So far there hasn't been much spillover to the U.S.

by Calculated Risk on 1/17/2012 08:39:00 AM

From the NY Fed: Empire State Manufacturing Survey

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that manufacturing activity expanded in New York State in January. The general business conditions index climbed five points to 13.5. The new orders index rose eight points to 13.7 and the shipments index inched up to 21.7. ... Future indexes conveyed a high degree of optimism about the six-month outlook, with the future general business conditions index rising nine points to 54.9, its highest level since January 2011.

On employment:

Employment indexes were positive and higher, pointing to higher employment levels [12.1 up from 2.3] and a longer average workweek [6.6 up from -2.3]. ... On a series of supplementary survey questions, 51 percent of respondents indicated that they expect their workforces to increase over the next six to twelve months, while just 9 percent predicted declines in the total number of workers—results noticeably more positive than in the June 2011 survey.

This was slightly above the consensus forecast of a reading of 10.5 (above 0 is expansion). The future indexes and employment readings were especially encouraging.

Weekend:
• Summary for Week Ending January 13th
• Schedule for Week of Jan 15th

by Calculated Risk on 1/16/2012 10:03:00 PM

From the MarketWatch: China fourth-quarter GDP up 8.9%

The country's GDP in the October to December period rose 8.9% from the year-ago quarter, weaker than the 9.1% expansion recorded in the three months to Sept. 30, but faster than the 8.6% growth tipped in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of economists. Other monthly economic indicators also beat expectations, with December retail sales climbing 18.1% from a year-earlier, while industrial output during the month rose 12.8%.

The Asian markets are green tonight. The Nikkei is up about 0.6%, and the Hang Seng is up 1.5%. The Seoul Composite is up 1.3%.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: the S&P 500 futures are up about 4 and Dow futures are up 40.

Oil: WTI futures are up to $99.90 and Brent is up to $111.80 per barrel.

Yesterday:
• Summary for Week Ending January 13th
• Schedule for Week of Jan 15th

by Calculated Risk on 1/16/2012 05:05:00 PM

Earlier I posted some housing forecasts for 2012. A frequently asked question is how do new home sales compare to single family housing starts (both series are from the Census Bureau). This graph below shows the two series - although they track each other, the two series cannot be directly compared.

For starts of single family structures, the Census Bureau includes owner built units and units built for rent that are not included in the new home sales report. From the Census Bureau: Comparing New Home Sales and New Residential Construction

Click on graph for larger image.

We are often asked why the numbers of new single-family housing units started and completed each month are larger than the number of new homes sold. This is because all new single-family houses are measured as part of the New Residential Construction series (starts and completions), but only those that are built for sale are included in the New Residential Sales series. We categorize new residential construction into four intents, or purposes:

Built for sale (or speculatively built): the builder is offering the house and the developed lot for sale as one transaction this includes houses where ownership of the entire property including the land is acquired ("fee simple") as well as houses sold for cooperative or condominium ownership. These are the units measured in the New Residential Sales series.

Contractor-built (or custom-built): the house is built for the landowner by a general contractor, or the land and the house are purchased in separate transactions.

Owner-built: the house is built entirely by the landowner or by the landowner acting as his/her own general contractor.

Built for rent: the house is built with the intent that it be placed on the rental market when it is completed.

However it is possible to compare "Single Family Starts, Built for Sale" to New Home sales on a quarterly basis. The Q3 2011 quarterly report showed that there were 79,000 single family starts, built for sale, in Q3 2011, and that was about the same as the 77,000 new homes sold for the same quarter. This data is Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA).

Note: new home sales are reported when contracts are signed, so it is appropriate to compare sales to starts (as opposed to completions). This is not perfect because of the handling of cancellations.

This graph provides a quarterly comparison of housing starts and new home sales. In 2005, and most of 2006, starts (blue) were higher than sales (red), and inventories of new homes increased.

Sales and starts have been running at about the same level for the last 2 years. In 2008 and 2009, the home builders started far fewer homes than they sold as they worked off the excess inventory they built up in 2005 and 2006.

by Calculated Risk on 1/16/2012 01:14:00 PM

Earlier I posted some housing forecasts from analysts at Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and added two more forecasts from Merrill Lynch and John Burns.

David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders has put out his forecasts (excel) calling for new home sales to increase to 360 thousand in 2012 (from 304 thousand in 2011), and for housing starts to increase 17% to 709 thousand. He forecasts single family starts will also increase 17% to 501 thousand. Crowe expects a significant increase in new home sales in 2013.

But here is the most optimistic forecast I've seen from Moody's via Julie Schmit at USA Today: Housing outlook is more upbeat

Existing home sales will rise 12% this year after a 2% increase last year, and new home sales, coming off a horrid year, will jump 74% this year, Moody's Analytics predicts.

Single-family housing starts will rise 37% this year, Moody's predicts, after falling 9% last year.

That would put single family starts (not total starts) at 687 thousand in 2012, and new home sales at 530 thousand.

Here is a table of some recent forecasts. I expect some increase in 2012 for both starts and new home sales, but I think the Wells Fargo / John Burns / NAHB forecasts are probably the upper range for 2012.

Some Housing Forecasts for 2012 (000s)
	New Home Sales	Single Family Starts	Total Starts
Merrill Lynch1	304	427
Fannie Mae	336	473	704
Wells Fargo	350	457	690
John Burns	359		717
NAHB	360	501	709
Moody's	530	687
1 Merrill forecast is "sideways" in 2012

by Calculated Risk on 1/16/2012 09:24:00 AM

Press remarks by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy

For the short term, we discussed the fiscal compact treaty and the crisis mechanisms. There is a number of things I can assert today:

- we will agree on the new fiscal compact treaty at the end of this month and we will sign it early March;

- our crisis mechanisms are being strengthened. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will enter into force in July 2012, earlier than planned. We will also assess the adequacy of the EFSF/ESM’s size without delay. ...

In the meantime, we should re-focus on growth and job creation. Growth friendly consolidation and job friendly growth are what we need! Growth should be enhanced by strengthening supply and by stimulating demand. We must urgently put in place an anti-recession strategy, mobilizing means and efforts at the Union level and - most importantly - at Member States level.

... our foremost concern should be stimulating employment. We need more, better and new jobs. Today, over 23 million people are unemployed in Europe. The economic slowdown risks increasing this number. Many of them are young. Women are particularly affected. The young are Europe's future and we need to give them hope and a decent perspective of joining the labour market.

And on Greece from CNBC: Greek PM: Two Deals But No Drachma Ahead

In his first and only interview since taking office, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos ... expressed complete confidence in his country’s ability to get through what is likely to be a harrowing two months as it approaches a 14.5 billion euro debt repayment in March.

Two different financial deals must be negotiated before then. ... The first of the two deals is with the country’s private sector lenders—banks, pension funds, and hedge funds around the world that own 206 billion euros worth of Greek government debt. ... Greece must then come up with a 4-year economic plan that is acceptable to the IMF and the EU, in order to secure the 130 billion euros and fund its operations. That deal with the IMF and the EU must also get done before the March repayment deadline.

The Greek deal with creditors must be worked out over the next week or so. The second deal must be completed in February.

The EU summit meeting is on January 30th and will focus on growth.

by Calculated Risk on 1/15/2012 09:26:00 PM

From the NY Times: As Reforms Flag in Greece, Europe Aims to Limit Damage

As Greece and its lenders prepare for another week of tense negotiations, European officials now say that the task is less to help the country through its troubles than to avoid the sort of uncontrolled default that many experts fear could threaten the global financial system.

Officials from the so-called troika of foreign lenders to Greece — the European Central Bank, European Union and International Monetary Fund — have come to believe that the country has neither the ability nor the will to carry out the broad economic reforms it has promised in exchange for aid, people familiar with the talks say, and they say they are even prepared to withhold the next installment of aid in March.
...
As recently as November, Greece and its lenders were optimistic that the country’s newly installed prime minister, Lucas Papademos ... would stabilize Greece’s soaring debt and help nurse the country back to health.

But since then, his interim government ... has been paralyzed.

And more from Tim Duy at FedWatch: How's That Austerity Working?

Bottom Line: The actions of the European Central Bank greatly eased the immediate financial pressures in the Eurozone. But the underlying problem of internal imbalances remain, and the European response is still not addressing those imbalances. Instead, the commitment to the fixed exchange rate combined with Germany's failure to recognize that their current account surplus must turn to deficit if they ever hope to be repaid promises to lock the Eurozone on the path of ongoing recession.

We should know about the Greek debt deal over the next week or two. I suspect a deal will be reached, and that Greece will receive the March aid. But at some point the "pretending" will have to stop.

Yesterday:
• Summary for Week Ending January 13th
• Schedule for Week of Jan 15th

by Calculated Risk on 1/15/2012 06:32:00 PM

A followup to the previous post on the possible impact on oil prices of an Iranian oil embargo, from Brad Plumer at the WaPo: How high oil prices could squelch the recovery

According to a U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis, a $20 increase in the cost of a barrel of oil — roughly what we saw last year — is estimated to shave roughly 0.4 points off GDP growth in the first year alone and boost unemployment by 0.1 percentage points. So if Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz (through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil flows) and prices start screaming upward from $107 per barrel to $120 or beyond, that would put a very noticeable dent in growth.

What’s more, oil shocks tend to have long-lingering effects. The EIA estimates that a $20 price increase continues biting into the economy for at last another year thereafter. James Hamilton, an economist at the University of California, San Diego, has suggested that the consequences of a price spike can persist for several quarters, as the resulting slowdown in consumer spending takes some time to ripple through the economy. That’s true even if the spike is only temporary and recedes quickly.

The recession in Europe, and slower growth in China (as Plumer notes), might offset some of the upward price pressure from a disruption of supply from Iran.

And below is a graph of gasoline prices. Gasoline prices had been slowly moving down since peaking in early May, but have started moving up again. Note: The graph below shows oil prices for WTI; gasoline prices in most of the U.S. are impacted more by Brent prices.

Orange County Historical Gas Price Charts Provided by GasBuddy.com