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Economic Data Continue Grim
Location: Blogs Russ Henke |
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| Posted by: Russ Henke |
5/18/2008 4:48 PM |
Here are a few more data points that have emerged since the last blog entry in this space:
In 1993, the richest 1% of American families pocketed 14% of the nation’s income. By 2006, their slice had grown to 23%.
In a new US corporate IT spending survey by ChangeWave Research in April 2008, 25% of the respondents said their company will spend less on software in coming months. This figure is 3 points higher than a study ChangeWave conducted in January and 11 points higher than one completed in October 2007, indicating a deepening trend.
Consumer prices increased a hefty 0.6% in April 2008, the US Labor Department said on May 15, 2008, if you take out seasonal adjustments. Of course, if one does not eat or drive (i.e. ignoring price increases in food and gas), April consumer prices increased only 0.2%. During the last 12 months, overall consumer prices increased 3.9%. Food alone has risen 5.1%; gasoline has risen 20.7%.
The government also reported that oil imported in April 2008 cost 67% more than oil imported a year earlier — but the trend in import prices is clear even if energy prices are ignored. For all non-petroleum imports, prices in April were up 6.2% from a year earlier. That is the fastest rate of gain in almost 20 years.
According to the May 16, 2008 Wall Street Journal, "US economic reports released May 15 are keeping recession worries afloat, showing continued weakness in the labor market and a struggling manufacturing sector." The Federal Reserve announced on May 15 that "US industrial production plunged a sharp 0.7% in April 2008, as output of motor vehicles and parts plummeted 8.2%." US industrial production had risen 0.2% percent in March but also dropped 0.7% percent in February.
The Reuters/University of Michigan index of US consumer confidence dropped to 59.5 in May 2008 — the lowest level since June 1980.
The president of Alliance for Excellent Education, in a new book, “Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation”, stated the following: “We can’t even keep our (US) kids in school. A third of them drop out. Half of those who remain go on to graduate without the skills for college or a decent job. International comparisons rank the United States a stunningly unimpressive eighteenth for high school graduation rates, a lackluster ranking of fifteenth for high school reading assessments among 15-year-olds in developed countries, and an embarrassing 25th for high school math.”
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Re: Economic Data Continue Grim |
By Russ Henke on
5/20/2008 4:06 PM |
Going on a Car Trip over Memorial Day?
Crude oil prices spiked to yet another trading high May 20, 2008 to $129.60 per barrel, closing at $129.07. At gas stations across the country, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline touched $3.80 for the first time, $4.30 in CA. It was the 10th time in the last 12 NY Mercantile sessions that crude oil prices have hit trading or closing records, if not both. |
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Re: Economic Data Continue Grim |
By Russ Henke on
5/21/2008 4:44 PM |
if you think oil prices are high, wait another day:
Wall Street closed lower for the second consecutive session on May 21, 2008, as record-high oil prices and a bleak economic assessment from the Federal Reserve deepened worries about rising costs and the bleak employment picture. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 227 points on May 21, and fell about 200 points on May 20, its widest two-day loss since February 2008. On May 21 alone, crude oil rose $4.19 to settle at $133.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange — about $20 higher than it was just 21 days ago. It passed $134 a barrel in after-hours trading on May 21. |
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