Home / Tag Archives: Mark Lieberman (page 10)

Tag Archives: Mark Lieberman

Commentary: Seven Little Words

""Fiscal policy,"" simply put, is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of spending in order to monitor and influence a nation's economy. At the heart of the spending/growth disparity is a philosophical debate over the role of government: those who believe government should be run like a business and avoid debt and those who see the role of government as spending counter-cyclically, that is increasing spending when the nation's economy is challenged to avoid further struggles. direct a country's economic goals.

Read More »

First-Time Jobless Claims Continue to Drop

First time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended May 4 dropped 4,000 to, 323,000, again the lowest level in more than five years the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected initial claims to increase to 335,000. First time jobless claims for the week ended April 27 were revised up to 327,000 from the originally reported 324,000.

Read More »

Hiring Drops 4.3% in March, BLS Reports

Hiring fell 4.3 percent in March, the same month in which payroll job growth plunged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Data from the report indicated there were 11.2 unemployed construction workers for every available job in March, up from 9.0 in February. By industry, the number of unemployed persons per job opening also increased in the manufacturing and information sectors.

Read More »

Mortgage Credit Eases as Demand Increases in Q2

The percentage of banks reporting stronger demand for mortgage loans rose in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported Monday, with more banks easing lending standards. Those results, revealed in the Fed's Senior Loan Officers Opinion Survey, are consistent with reports that mortgage loans are becoming easier to obtain. While the results suggest a trend in lending standards, they could be misleading: A bank which has tightened standards as much as possible may not necessarily ease them.

Read More »

Payrolls Up 165k in April; Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.5%

The economy added 165,000 jobs in April--rebounding from a weak report for March--and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.5.percent, its lowest level since December 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 153,000, and that the unemployment rate would remain at 7.6 percent. Payroll growth for March, originally reported at 88,000, was revised upward to 138,000, and February was revised to 332,000 from 268,000.

Read More »

First-Time Jobless Claims Drop to 5-Year Low

First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending April 27 dropped 18,000 to 324,000, the lowest level in more than five years, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 354,000 initial claims. Initial jobless claims for the week ending April 20 were revised up to 344,000 from the originally reported 342,000.

Read More »

FOMC Raps Obama, Congress as It Continues MBS Purchase Program

With a swipe at both the President and Congress and concerns about ""downside risks"" to the economy, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 11-1 Wednesday to leave interest rates unchanged and to continue its program of purchasing agency mortgage backed securities and longer term Treasury securities. The FOMC explained the actions should ""maintain downward pressure on longer-term interest rates, support mortgage markets, and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative."" Kansas City Fed President Esther George, cast the lone negative vote.

Read More »

Homeownership Rate Drops to 18-Year Low

The number of households owning homes fell 698,000 to 74,511,000 in the first quarter, the first decline in almost two years, according to a Census Bureau report Tuesday. At the same time, the nation's homeownership rate fell to 65 percent (seasonally adjusted), the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1995. The Census data paints a grim picture for the home sales market, which has already been struggling against mortgage restrictions and weak inventory.

Read More »

Case-Shiller Indices Show Midwest Price Weakness

Despite weakness in the Midwest, home prices posted their strongest year-over-year gain in almost seven years in February, according to the Case-Shiller 10- and 20-city Home Price Indices released Tuesday. Home prices rose year-over-year in all 20 of the cities in the Case-Shiller survey. Month-over-month, the 10-city index improved 0.4 percent in February, while the 20-city index was up 0.3 percent. On a yearly basis, the 10-city index was up 8.6 percent, and the 20-city index rose 9.3 percent.

Read More »

Pending Home Sales Index Up For March

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 1.5 percent to 105.7 in March, the highest level in almost three years, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Economists had expected a 0.7 percent increase to 105.5 from February's originally reported 104.8. The February index reading was revised to 104.1. With the month-over-month improvement, the PHSI is 7.0 percent above March 2012, slightly below the 7.7 percent year-over-year gain in February. The index registered double-digit percent gains from April through October last year so the dip--on the eve of the homebuying season--is less than encouraging.

Read More »