-- Posted Sunday, 6 May 2012 | | Disqus
The following are some snippets from the most recent issue of the International Forecaster. For the full 19 page issue, please see subscription information below.
US MARKETS
It’s no April Fool’s joke — last month CNN delivered its lowest-rated month in total day in over a decade, since August 2001, the month before the September 11 attacks. The once-dominant cable news network posted decade-lows among both total viewers (357,000) and Adults 25-54 (108,000). Versus April last year, CNN was down 21% in total viewers and 29% in 25-54. In comparison, leader Fox News Channel was up 2% in total viewers (1.1 million) and 1% in 25-54 (273,000) and No.2 MSNBC was flat in total viewers (425,000) and down 5% in 25-54 (139,000).
Things did not look brighter for CNN in the evening where its shows too posted across-the-board declines: John King USA at 6 PM was down 41% in the 25-54 demo, Erin Burnett Outfront at 7 PM was down 34%, Piers Morgan was down 14% at 9PM, and Anderson Cooper 360 was down 8% at 8 PM and 28% at 10PM. In primetime, CNN had its lowest rated month in nearly two years, since August 2010, in both total viewers (508,000, down 16% from last year) and adults 25-54 (149,000, down 22%). Meanwhile FNC (1.9 million, 395,000 in 25-54) was flat in total viewers from last April and down 9% in 25-54. MSNBC (754,000; 236,000) was down 5% and 9%, respectively.
U.S. companies hired the fewest people in seven months in April, a worrisome sign for a labor market that has struggled to gain traction and adding to concerns that the economy has lost some momentum.
The ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed the private sector added 119,000 jobs last month, below economists' expectations for a gain of 177,000 jobs. The March figure was also revised lower. The report comes two days before the government's broader and much-watched monthly jobs report.
"This is an upsetting report," said David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Advisors in New York. "The strength of the U.S. economic rebound is clearly still uncertain. Hopefully we don't get a third consecutive summer of weaker growth."
New orders for U.S. factory goods in March recorded their biggest decline in three years as demand for transportation equipment and a range of other goods slumped, government data showed on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods dropped 1.5 percent after a revised 1.1 percent rise in February.
Economists had forecast orders falling 1.6 percent after a previously reported 1.3 percent increase in February. While the report showed broad weakness in March in a sector that has carried the economic recovery, anecdotal evidence suggests factories continued to expand as the second quarter started.
The legislative analyst’s office has a new number that is adding to California’s financial headache: $3 billion. That’s the total amount that tax revenue has lagged behind goals set by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration in the current fiscal year. The shortfall was detailed in a report released on Tuesday by the nonpartisan office, which provides budget advice to lawmakers. Much of that gap comes from a disappointing April, the most important month for income taxes. Income taxes were $2.07 billion short of the $9.43-billion goal, and corporate taxes fell $143 million short of an expected $1.53 billion, according to the report.
Applications for U.S. home mortgages edged up last week, boosted by stronger demand for purchases for the second week in a row, an industry group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, rose 0.1 percent in the week ended April 27. The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of loan requests for home purchases gained 2.9 percent, but the gauge of refinancing applications slipped 0.7 percent. The refinance share of total mortgage activity eased to 72.6 percent of applications from 73.4 percent the previous week. Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.05 percent in the week, up 1 basis point from 4.04 percent.
The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to the MBA.
Companies in the U.S. added fewer workers last month, according to data from a private survey, pointing to a cooling in the job market, as the Commerce Department also reported a decline in factory orders in March.
Private employment increased by 119,000, the smallest gain in seven months, after rising by 201,000 in March, Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Employer Services said. Orders to factories fell 1.5 percent following a 1.1 percent gain in February.
Payroll report for April and the economy. Employment increased by 119,000 following a revised 201,000 gain the prior month, according to figures from Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Employer Services. Himes, speaking with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop," also discusses financial market regulations and the Occupy Wall Street protests. (Source: Bloomberg)
Stocks retreated as the smaller-than-projected advance in payrolls raised concerns government data in two days will show the world’s largest economy isn’t growing fast enough to reduce unemployment. A report yesterday showing manufacturing expanded in April at the fastest pace in almost a year helped send the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the highest level since 2007.
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THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2012
05/05/12 (2) IF
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