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Title: Consumer Prices, Jobless Claims Exceed Forecasts
Source:
Bloomberg
URL Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011- ... 0-4-core-gauge-rises-0-2-.html
Published: Sep 15, 2011
Author: Bob Willis and Shobhana Chandra
Post Date: 2011-09-15 13:16:25 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 8298
Comments: 17
The cost of living in the U.S. climbed more than forecast and unemployment claims rose, battering the confidence of Americans squeezed by stagnant wages and higher prices of food, housing and energy.
The consumer-price index increased 0.4 percent in August, and jobless claims climbed by 11,000 to 428,000 in the week ended Sept. 10, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index held last week at the second-lowest level of 2011 as the most households in three years said it was a bad time to spend.
Unemployment stuck around 9 percent may prompt consumers to keep cutting back, hurting sales at companies like Best Buy Co. and prompting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to consider additional measures to spur growth when central bankers meet next week. A report from the Fed today showed manufacturing, a mainstay of the recovery, continued to support the economy last month.
“The inflation numbers have to raise concern but growth is going to be any policy maker’s main concern right now,” said Kurt Rankin, an economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh. “The recovery is just north of stagnant.”
Stocks rallied after the European Central Bank announced new liquidity measures in cooperation with the Fed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.9 percent to 1,193.3 at 11:53 a.m. in New York.
Economists projected a 0.2 percent gain in consumer prices, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 84 economists.
Rents, Gasoline
The results included a 0.4 percent jump in rents, the most since June 2008. Shelter costs climbed 0.2 percent. Energy costs increased 1.2 percent from a month earlier, and gasoline prices climbed 1.9 percent.
Companies such as Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lowe’s Cos., the second-largest home-improvement retailer, are contending with rising costs and weak demand. The company has been negotiating with vendors to keep prices down while passing some increases onto consumers.
“Our approach is to negotiate as hard as we can to the lowest cost possible,” Robert Gfeller, executive vice president for merchandising at Lowe’s, said in a teleconference Sept. 7. “Where we have taken (increased) pricing, we have moved some through to retail.”
Today’s report showed inflation-adjusted hourly wages fell 0.6 percent in August, the most since July 2008, and were down 1.9 percent from the same month a year ago.
Confidence Ebbs
The wage squeeze is taking a toll on consumer confidence. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 49.3 in the period to Sept. 11, near this year’s low of minus 49.4 reached in May. The buying climate gauge slumped to the lowest level since October 2008.
“The consumer is making very measured choices,” Best Buy Chief Executive Officer Brian Dunn said in a Sept. 13 telephone interview. “I don’t think it’s a year where someone is going to buy a TV and a tablet and a new smartphone and go to Disneyland.”
Richfield, Minnesota-based Best Buy, the world’s largest consumer-electronics retailer, this week cut its full-year earnings forecast and reported a 30 percent decline in second- quarter profit.
Jobless claims climbed to the highest level since the end of June in a week that included the Labor Day holiday, a Labor Department report showed. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a drop in claims to 411,000, according to the median forecast.
Pressure on Obama
Bank of America Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. are among companies planning to keep trimming payrolls, raising the risk that consumer spending will stagnate. Signs the labor market is struggling to gain traction puts more pressure on President Barack Obama, lawmakers and the Fed for additional steps to spur the economy.
Bernanke said policy makers will discuss the tools they could use to boost the recovery at their next meeting Sept. 20- 21 and stand ready to use them if necessary.
Fed officials “are prepared to employ these tools as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in the context of price stability,” Bernanke said in a Sept. 8 speech Minneapolis.
“We see little indication that the higher rate of inflation experienced so far this year has become ingrained in the economy,” he said, citing the waning of “transitory” influences like high fuel prices and global supply disruptions linked to Japan’s March earthquake and tsunami.
Jobs Plan
Obama announced a jobs plan before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 8, calling for an extension of a payroll-tax break for Americans and unemployment assistance. He also pushed for a payroll tax break for small businesses, an increase in infrastructure spending and more aid for cash-strapped state governments.
Manufacturing remains a pillar of growth as overseas demand and capital spending by American companies keep assembly lines busy.
Output at factories, mines and utilities climbed 0.2 percent after a 0.9 percent gain in July, today’s Fed report showed. Economists had forecast no change, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
Factory production, which makes up 75 percent of the total, advanced 0.5 percent. Mining, which includes oil drilling, increased 1.2 percent. Utility output dropped 3 percent, as temperatures moderated from the prior month, after a 2.8 percent gain.
Automakers are recovering after a temporary shortage of parts following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that constrained sales and production.
The output of motor vehicles and parts increased 1.7 percent after a 4.5 percent jump a month earlier, today’s report showed. Excluding autos and parts, manufacturing climbed 0.4 percent after a 0.3 percent July increase.
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It the economic version of the Titanic, just before the final plunge below the surface. Its one thing to try a policy model, and fails.
Its another thing entirely when you see the failure, note it getting worse, and insist on continuing what simply isn't working.
At some point you either question the President's goals, or you question his fitness for the office itself.
Proxy IP's are amusing.....lmao
#2. To: Brian S (#0)
Consumer Prices, Jobless Claims Exceed Forecasts
Bullshit.
The government-sponsored economists are paid because they say what oBUMa wants them to say. If they told the TRUTH, they'd lose their contracts.
I, OTOH, have been forecasting that the economy will continue its death-spiral, with unemployment climbing steadily, and inflation ramping up.
You post these articles as though they're a surprise! Get real.
Unemployment stuck around 9 percent ...
More lies. Actual unemployment is 23%, as shown HERE.
Bernanke said policy makers will discuss the tools they could use to boost the recovery at their next meeting Sept. 20- 21 and stand ready to use them if necessary.
Translation: "We're gonna' print as much as we want."
Manufacturing remains a pillar of growth ...
MORE lies. The only things that's we're really manufacturing at this point are excuses to keep the people asleep.
You keep trying to downplay the truth. God knows, you'll never actually pin the acceleration of the collapse directly where it belongs; on oBUMa's chest.
Feh.
To:Skippy, toe-jam, old man Fred Alzheimers Mertz, _jim, loonymom/ming, e-type-jackoff, goober56, Wrek, calcon, dummy DwarF, continental op, Biff, gobsheit and meguro From: Capitalist Eric Message: You're SOCIALIST morons. ESAD. 
#3. To: Badeye (#1)
At some point you either question the President's goals, or you question his fitness for the office itself.
I no longer have any question what oBUMa's goals are. He's driving the dagger through the heart of America. He's a rook in the chess game called the "Cloward-Piven Strategy."
He has clearly stated his goals. And when you understand WHY he's doing what he's doing, and you look at his job performance thus far, it becomes abundantly clear that he is perfectly qualified what he's trying to do...
His record- when viewed from the Cloward-Piven Strategy, is the hallmark of perfection.
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.” -- Marcus Tullius Cicero --
To:Skippy, toe-jam, old man Fred Alzheimers Mertz, _jim, loonymom/ming, e-type-jackoff, goober56, Wrek, calcon, dummy DwarF, continental op, Biff, gobsheit and meguro From: Capitalist Eric Message: You're SOCIALIST morons. ESAD.
#4. To: Capitalist Eric (#3)
While most don't view it with the detail and references you do CE, they are coming to the same conclusion.
Proxy IP's are amusing.....lmao
#5. To: Badeye (#4)
Sadly, most posters here (esp. Leftist losers) believe the government still works for them, that they have a choice at the ballot- box, and that there's a difference between the political parties.
Sometimes, I think the only way the die-hard Republicans OR democrats will truly understand, is when they wake up with a gun stuck in their mouths- held by one of "their" people...
God help them, because they're too damned brainwashed to help themselves...
To:Skippy, toe-jam, old man Fred Alzheimers Mertz, _jim, loonymom/ming, e-type-jackoff, goober56, Wrek, calcon, dummy DwarF, continental op, Biff, gobsheit and meguro From: Capitalist Eric Message: You're SOCIALIST morons. ESAD.
#6. To: Capitalist Eric (#5)
God help them, because they're too damned brainwashed to help themselves...
CE, it sounds like you are talking about yourself.
#7. To: Fred Mertz (#6)
CE, it sounds like you are talking about yourself.
Gold sales must be down, he's beating that doom and gloom war drum again. Maybe badeye would be good for a few ounces for a down and out doctoral candidate.
#8. To: mininggold (#7) (Edited)
Gold sales must be down, he's beating that doom and gloom war drum again.
Did he ever stop?
What I don't understand is why a Ph.d candidate doesn't write his own articles. He must have tons of new information his research has unearthed. Why not post some of that instead of all these articles written by others?
#9. To: Capitalist Eric (#5)
Sometimes, I think the only way the die-hard Republicans OR democrats will truly understand, is when they wake up with a gun stuck in their mouths- held by one of "their" people...
We can't overlook the simple undeniable truth 'We the People' have been totally disengaged as a whole while our government, especially the House of Representatives, has run amok.
Under the leadership of both political party's through 2010. Specifically, under Speaker's Hastert and Pelosi.
Proxy IP's are amusing.....lmao
#10. To: Skip Intro (#8)
What I don't understand is why a Ph.d candidate doesn't write his own articles.
I write a LOT. I work in a specific area of engineering, and my research and documentation on just one particular application- generated over the past year- fills a couple of (4" wide) 3-ring binders.
As usual, you seem to think that responding to your inanities is a high priority for me, when in reality, it's a way to clear my head from the research I'm constantly doing. For example, I've got three books in my car that I'm in the middle of, two on my desk, and three research studies (performed over the last two years, in my area) that I'm reviewing, for my doctorate. In my case, my doctorate (not a PhD, btw) overlaps about 90% with my specialty of work, so it works out nicely.
I have been published on economic issues, but I'll not link to them here, because that would give up enough information that my (relative) anonymity and privacy would be compromised. I prefer to remain a private person, versus a public figure.
I find interesting articles that provide new information, versus the daily propaganda from MSM presstitutes and alleged "alternative" MSM like Rush, Hannity or Beck (all of them whores). Usually I agree with the articles I post, but not always. What's more important to me is whether they tell the unvarnished truth, and are thought-provoking.
To:Skippy, toe-jam, old man Fred Alzheimers Mertz, _jim, loonymom/ming, e-type-jackoff, goober56, Wrek, calcon, dummy DwarF, continental op, Biff, gobsheit and meguro From: Capitalist Eric Message: You're SOCIALIST morons. ESAD.
#11. To: Fred Mertz (#6)
CE, it sounds like you are talking about yourself.
If that's what it "sounds like" to you, then I'd suggest a new battery for your hearing aid.
I'd also suggest upping your meds again- you're getting delusions of significance again.
To:Skippy, toe-jam, old man Fred Alzheimers Mertz, _jim, loonymom/ming, e-type-jackoff, goober56, Wrek, calcon, dummy DwarF, continental op, Biff, gobsheit and meguro From: Capitalist Eric Message: You're SOCIALIST morons. ESAD.
#12. To: Capitalist Eric (#11)
...you're getting delusions of significance again.
Oh, the irony. (chuckle)
#13. To: Fred Mertz (#12)
Oh, the irony. (chuckle)
They don't call Asperger's, 'the Engineers Disease' for nothing.
#14. To: mininggold, Fred Mertz (#13)
Fred Mertz: Oh, the irony. (chuckle)
No irony at all. Just FACT.
It's a fact that I'm smarter than you, better-informed than you, and superior to you in every way that matters. You're nothing but flyshit on the wall. Those are FACTS.
dingbat: They don't call Asperger's, 'the Engineers Disease' for nothing.
Oh, how ORIGINAL, you're going straight back to the lefts "Rules of Disinformation," eh?
LOL.
Rule of Disinformation #4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent’s argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.Rule of Disinformation #5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary attack the messenger ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as “kooks”, “right-wing”, “liberal”, “left- wing”, “terrorists”, “conspiracy buffs”, “radicals”, “militia”, “racists”, “religious fanatics”, “sexual deviates”, and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
Rule of Disinformation #6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism reasoning - simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent’s viewpoint.
Rule of Disinformation #7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could so taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
Rule of Disinformation #18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can’t do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how “sensitive they are to criticism”.
Rule of Disinformation #19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the “play dumb” rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon). In order to completely avoid discussing issues may require you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
Rule of Disinformation #20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
To:Skippy, toe-jam, old man Fred Alzheimers Mertz, _jim, loonymom/ming, e-type-jackoff, goober56, Wrek, calcon, dummy DwarF, continental op, Biff, gobsheit and meguro From: Capitalist Eric Message: You're SOCIALIST morons. ESAD.
#15. To: Capitalist Eric, mininggold, Fred Mertz (#14)
It's a fact that I'm smarter than you, better-informed than you, and superior to you in every way that matters. You're nothing but flyshit on the wall. Those are FACTS.
Looks like a dual diagnosis is in order.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
#16. To: lucysmom, mininggold (#15)
LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I knew you wouldn't be able to resist switching back to your other screen-name, to bolster your own argument!!!!!!!!!!!!
My God, you are SO predictable........
Thanks, I enjoy having a big laugh from time to time....... and you did NOT disappoint!
8^D
To:Skippy, toe-jam, old man Fred Alzheimers Mertz, _jim, loonymom/ming, e-type-jackoff, goober56, Wrek, calcon, dummy DwarF, continental op, Biff, gobsheit and meguro From: Capitalist Eric Message: You're SOCIALIST morons. ESAD.
#17. To: Capitalist Eric (#16)
I knew you wouldn't be able to resist switching back to your other screen-name, to bolster your own argument!!!!!!!!!!!!
and that would make you wrong again!
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
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