– Conditions for New York manufacturers unexpectedly deteriorated for a second consecutive month in July, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Friday, although the pace of contraction slowed compared to the previous month.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index rose to a negative 3.8 in July from a negative 7.8 in June, but a negative reading indicates a contraction in activity. Economists had been expecting the index to climb to a positive 8.0.
An acceleration in the pace of contraction in new orders contributed to the continued weakness in the sector, with the new orders index falling to a negative 5.5 in July from a negative 3.6 in June.
The report also showed a notable slowdown in the pace of job growth in the industry, as the number of employees index fell to 1.1 in July from 10.2 in the previous month.
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Italy managed to sell nearly 3 billion euros worth of government bonds but was forced to offer a hefty premium to convince investors to accept the increased risk associated with the country’s sovereign debt. 15-year bonds were offered at a 5.9 percent return – an all-time high for Italian bonds of this duration.
Five-year bonds were also released, with a yield of 4.9%, the highest return since June 2008.
By: Kevin R. Worthley, CFP®
As a Certified Financial Planner™, I’ve been privy to a higher-than-normal amount of discussion and advertising about insurance annuities lately. Marketing materials and wholesaler calls have increased at my office and even the venerable financial news-magazine, Barron’s, chose to make annuities their featured article in a recent issue. It seems there is a lot of interest on all sides to give annuities a closer look these days.
Whats the Attraction of Annuities?
Annuities have many features to consider in constructing a retirement plan. These m
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The blowout in eurozone non-core debt has intensified and unlike in past months the EUR has been a clear casualty. The lack of a concrete agreement over a solution given divergent views of EU officials, the European Central Bank (ECB) and private sector participants threatens a further ratcheting higher of pressure on markets over coming weeks.
The only real progress overnight as revealed in the Eurogroup statement appeared to be in the renewing the option of buying back Greek debt via the eurozone bailout fund, extending maturities and lowering interest rates on loans. This will be insufficient to stem the pressure on the EUR, with the currency verging on a sharp drop below 1.40.
The USD continues to take advantage of the EUR’s woes and has actually staged a break above its 100-day moving average yesterday after several attempts previously. T
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– In another sign that the U.S. economic recovery may be losing steam, the June jobs report released by the Labor Department showed weak jobs growth for the second month in a row.
According to the report released Friday, the U.S.
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US retail sales for June increased by just 0.1 percent as consumers continue to battle with elevated unemployment and a slowing economy. Total sales however, were boosted by an unexpected increase in demand at auto dealers that will not influence figures on consumer spending for the second quarter that the government will publish later this month.
“Consumers are cautious,” said Michelle Meyer, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. “There is still pretty slow momentum. It still shows we’re in a fragile recovery.”
