The February 2012 S&P Case Shiller home price index shows a -3.5% decline from a year ago over 20 metropolitan housing markets and a -3.6% decline for the top 10 housing markets from February 2011. Home prices are back to November 2002 levels for the composite-20 and April 2003 for the composite-10 and are new lows, not seasonally adjusted.
The Deficit Boogie Men, Medicare and Social Security are once again knocking at the door. The Social Security Trustees just released their annual report. They say social security will run out of money by 2036. This is one year earlier than projected last year. Why the sudden shocking news? Seems the fund projected revenues greater than actual because gee, people have less income than originally thought.
This week 60 Minutes, revisited the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Much we already know, but the below segment gives us a refresher and sums it up nicely. There is no justice for you and me, regardless of how much evidence there is of civil and criminal wrongdoing.
The Federal Reserve's Industrial Production & Capacity Utilization report, G.17, shows zero change in industrial production for March 2012, the second month in a row. Manufacturing dropped -0.2%, mining was up +0.2% and utilities increased +1.5%. This report is also known as output for factories and mines.
The March 2012 employment statistics for individual states gives us yet more not so great news for American labor. Employment only increased in 29 states and decreased in 20. The three states with the largest payroll employment decrease are Ohio, -9,500, New Jersey, -8,600, and Wisconsin, -4,500. February showed payrolls gaining in 42 states.
U.S. multinational corporations are hiring. The problem is most of that hiring is happening abroad. In an updated BEA summary on sales, investment and employment by Multinational Corporations for 2010, we have a 0.1% increase in hiring for jobs in the United States while MNCs increased their hiring abroad by 1.5%.
Worldwide employment by U.S. multinational companies (MNCs) increased 0.5 percent in 2010, to 34.0 million workers, with increases in both the United States and abroad. Employment in the United States by U.S. parent companies increased 0.1 percent, to 23.0 million workers, which contrasted with a 0.6 percent decrease in total private-industry employment in the United States. The employment by U.S. parents accounted for roughly one-fifth of total U.S. employment in private industries. Abroad, employment by the majority-owned foreign affiliates of U.S. MNCs increased 1.5 percent, to 11.0 million workers.
U.S. multinationals account for 20% of U.S. hires in the private sector. Yet from 1999 to 2009, U.S. MNCs decreased U.S. employment by 1 million workers while expanding employment abroad by 2.9 million. The U.S. share of employment by MNCs went from 75.2% in 1999 to 67.7% by 2010.
Initial weekly unemployment claims for the week ending on April 14th, 2012 were 386,000. The DOL reports this as a decrease of 2,000 from last week. The previous week was revised, from 380,000 to 388,000, an increase of 8,000. This is not good news for any recovery.
The March 2012 Residential construction report showed Housing starts decreased, -5.8%, from February's revised 694,000, to a level of 654,000. Housing starts have increased 10.3% from a year ago. Single family housing starts declined -0.2%. The -5.8% drop was due to apartments, 5 units or more of one building structure, which decreased -19.8% in one month.
March 2012 Retail Sales increased 0.8%. Minus autos & parts, retail sales also increased 0.8%. February retail sales were revised down from 1.1% to 1.0%. Retail sales are up 6.5% from the same time last year. Retail sales are reported by dollars, not by volume, so dropping prices often reports as a decline in sales.
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