RSS Feed by Calculated Risk on 2/28/2010 03:29:00 PM
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Greece Bailout Plan and Further Austerity Measures moving forward
From Stephen Castle and Landon Thomas Jr. at the NY Times: Europe Union Moves Toward a Bailout of Greece
[T]he European Union is moving toward the first bailout in the history of its common currency, which is expected to involve loan guarantees from the German and French governments to encourage their banks to buy Greek debt.
Even as the negotiations continue, the bloc is insisting that Athens impose further, painful austerity measures ...
Weekly Summary and a Look Ahead
by Calculated Risk on 2/28/2010 11:55:00 AM
This will be a busy week for economic data, and the focus will be on the BLS February employment report to be released on Friday. The consensus is for a net loss of 50 to 80 thousand payroll jobs, and the unemployment rate to increase slightly to 9.8% (from 9.7%).
There is considerable debate on the impact of the snow storms on the employment report. The BLS will disclose and adjust for any snow related data collection issues, but some hiring might have been delayed because of the storms. However, if so, there will be a bounce back in March - however it is important to remember that the weekly unemployment claims were moving higher before the storms arrived. Also the temporary hiring for the 2010 Census will have increased slightly - I'm sure all of these issues will be widely discussed ...
On Monday, the BEA will release the Personal Income and Outlays report for January. This release is very useful for looking at both Personal Income and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE). Also on Monday, the ISM Manufacturing index (consensus is for expansion, but a slight decrease to 57.5% from 58.4%), and the January Construction Spending report from the Census Bureau (consensus is for a decline of 0.5%).
On Tuesday, the various manufacturers will release light vehicle sales for February. The consensus is for a decline to about 10.4 million on a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) basis from 10.8 million in January. Sales for Toyota will be closely watched. Also on Tuesday, the Personal Bankruptcy Filings estimate for February will be released.
1.2 Million to Lose Unemployment Benefits Today
by Calculated Risk on 2/28/2010 08:59:00 AM
Just a reminder ...
From John Schmid at the Journal Sentinel: Unemployment benefits for 1.2 million Americans could expire Sunday
Nearly 1.2 million unemployed Americans ... face an imminent cutoff of government unemployment checks if Congress cannot pass emergency legislation to extend federal benefits before funding expires Sunday.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Fed Balance Sheet and MBS Purchases
by Calculated Risk on 2/27/2010 11:49:00 PM
Here is the Federal Reserve balance sheet break down from the Atlanta Fed weekly Financial Highlights:
Graph Source: Altanta Fed.
From the Atlanta Fed:
The balance sheet expanded $20 billion, to $2.3 trillion, for the week ended February 17.Holdings of agency debt and mortgage backed securities increased $49 billion while short-term lending to financials, specifically the Term Auction Credit Facility, declined by $23 billion.
Daily Show on BofA's Hidden Credit Card Fees
by Calculated Risk on 2/27/2010 06:59:00 PM
Some fun from the Daily Show. Link here if embed doesn't load.
