by Arnold Joe
Loading ...Economics:
The US ISM (a manufacturing index) in May showed some slight improvement, but still showed the sector was contracting with a reading of 49.6 up from 48.6…any reading less than 50 indicates contraction. Not surprising, the employment sector had another weak reading of 45.5 and the prices paid component hit an 87% which is […]
In many parts of the world such as the U.S. and just about any country that manages its currency (e.g. China, Latin America, Russia, OPEC nations etc) have seen inflation continue to climb. With inflation being so high and interest rates being low, the returns available on some fixed income investments (e.g. bonds) have a […]
Economics:
Canada’s April inflation numbers increased to 0.8% for the month and 1.7% year over year. Canada reported food increased 0.8% in the month and energy prices increased 6.0% (this contrast to the US which strangely enough showed no change in energy prices). Although the year over year numbers are low relative to the other […]
Economics:
There were lots of weak US economic numbers released today. Industrial production in April fell 0.7%, capacity utilization dropped to 79.7%, the Philly Fed index contracted again with another negative reading of 15.6, the New York Empire manufacturing index fell to negative 3 while the prices paid component posted a large increase to another record […]
Oil:
There was further clarification on the Iran and its possible reduction in oil output. Iran’s oil is heavier and more sour than others and currently the market is over supplied with heavy sour crude. As a result, Iran is thinking about cutting back production. Too bad, I thought this might have been the beginning […]
Should North American investors be investing based on an economic environment that is recessionary or inflationary?
As mentioned previously, the US economy seems to be in a bull market as bad news (such as housing or employment stats) results in rising stock markets. If the market responds to bad news by pushing up the stock […]
Recession or high inflation?
A stagflation is a combination of a recession and an inflationary environment; the economy is contracting yet inflation is high. If the governments were doing their jobs properly this wouldn’t happen, but since they all want to get re-elected they tried to continuously pump up the economy so that it grows at […]
