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Keyword: unexpected

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  • U.S. economy finds momentum in second quarter, further gains seen

    07/31/2013 5:36:39 AM PDT · by Oldeconomybuyer · 13 replies
    Reuters ^ | July 31, 2013 | By Lucia Mutikani
    U.S. economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the second quarter, laying a firmer foundation for the rest of the year that could bring the Federal Reserve a step closer to cutting back its monetary stimulus. Gross domestic product grew at a 1.7 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday, stepping up from the first-quarter's downwardly revised 1.1 percent expansion pace.
  • Moody's Downgrades Chicago's Debt Rating

    07/19/2013 5:53:52 PM PDT · by george76 · 16 replies
    ap ^ | Jul 18, 2013
    Illinois' $97 billion pension problem isn't doing any favors for Chicago. Moody's Investors Service late Wednesday downgraded the city's debt rating from Aa3 to A3 because of the city's "very large and growing" pension liability.
  • Unemployment rates rise in 28 US states

    07/18/2013 1:13:41 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 10 replies
    Associated Press ^ | Jul 18, 2013 4:06 PM EDT | Christopher S. Rugaber
    Unemployment rates rose in 28 U.S. states last month, partly because more Americans started looking for work and not all of them found jobs. … Nationally, the unemployment rate remained 7.6 percent in June, even though employers added 195,000 jobs. …
  • Summertime Blues: Both Initial Jobless Claims (NSA) and Continuing Claims Rise Sharply

    07/18/2013 7:18:39 AM PDT · by whitedog57 · 14 replies
    Confounded Interest ^ | 07/18/2013 | Anthony B. Sanders
    The Department of Labor reported today that: In the week ending July 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 334,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 358,000. That figure was on a seasonally adjusted basis. If we look at the non seasonally (NSA) adjusted data, initial jobless claims (purple) rose 25,350 from 383,360 to 408,710. ijccc071813 Continuing claims rose 333,800. cjc071813 Consumer confidence? It fell from -27.3 to -28.4. Notice that it has not been above 0 since the recession of 2001. bcc071813 Summertime blues indeed.
  • Farewell "Housing Recovery" - Housing Starts Miss Most Since January 2007..

    07/17/2013 6:33:54 AM PDT · by Perdogg · 4 replies
    Zero hedge ^ | Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/17/2013 09:16 -0400
    Farewell "Housing Recovery" - Housing Starts Miss Most Since January 2007, Permits Have Biggest Miss In History In all the noise surrounding Bernanke's rehash of statements made countless times before, today's only relevant data point - June housing starts and permits - was largely ignored. And one can see why: printing at 836K, the starts number was the lowest since August 2012, the second largest sequential drop (down from 928K in May) since 2011 and the biggest miss to expectations of 957K since January 2007!
  • Weekly First-Time Claims For Unemployment Benefits Spiked Last Week to 360,000, Higher Than Expected

    07/11/2013 7:42:02 AM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 16 replies
    International Business Times ^ | 07/11/2013 | Malik Singleton
    The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rose sharply last week to 360,000, an increase of 16,000 and much higher than the number analysts were expecting, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S expected, on average, claims for the seven days between June 30 and July 6 to fall to 340,000 below the previous week's revised figure of 344,000. By comparison, there were 363,000 first-time claims filed during the comparable week last year (seasonally adjusted). Although claims spiked, Labor Department officials and economists caution that one should not read too much into any...
  • Only 47% of Adults Have Full-Time Job

    07/05/2013 9:55:19 PM PDT · by george76 · 37 replies
    Breitbart ^ | 5 Jul 2013 | Mike Flynn
    only 47% of Americans have a full-time job and those who don't are finding it increasingly out of reach. Of the 144 million Americans employed last month, only 116 million were working full-time. Friday's report showed that 58.7% of the civilian adult population of 245 million was working last month. Only 47% of Americans, however, had a full-time job. ... In June, the number of Americans who wanted to work full-time, but were forced into part-time jobs because of the economy, jumped 352,000 to over eight million.
  • Initial Jobless Claims Rise To 354,000

    06/20/2013 8:22:36 AM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 14 replies
    Business Insider ^ | 06/20/2013 | Rob Wile
    Initial jobless claims hit 354,000. Consensus was for 340,000, according to Bloomberg. Last week had declined to 334,000. The 4-week moving average was 348,250, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 345,750. Mohamed El-Erian wrote in this space yesterday that for the foreseeable future, prints like this will be watched with greater scrutiny to see if the Fed's sunny economic projections are correct.
  • U.S. jobless claims rise above expectations last week

    06/20/2013 5:35:09 AM PDT · by Oldeconomybuyer · 10 replies
    Reuters ^ | June 20, 2013
    (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but not enough to signal a material shift from the recent pace of moderate job growth. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 354,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.
  • Employers Dropping Spousal Coverage to Avoid ObamaCare Fees

    06/17/2013 3:02:53 PM PDT · by grundle · 11 replies
    thenewamerican.com ^ | February 26, 2013 | Michael Tennant
    With healthcare costs continually on the rise — a situation compounded by ObamaCare’s new taxes and regulations — employers are looking for every means possible to keep those costs down. The healthcare law requires them to offer coverage to all full-time employees and their dependent children aged 25 and younger. The one person whose coverage it does not mandate, however, is the employee’s spouse; spousal coverage, therefore, is increasingly on employers’ chopping blocks. According to MarketWatch, since the passage of ObamaCare, companies have instituted various measures designed to discourage, if not outright exclude, individuals from obtaining health coverage via their...
  • U.S. Payroll to Population and Unemployment Worsen in May

    06/06/2013 8:54:44 AM PDT · by george76 · 2 replies
    Gallup ^ | June 6, 2013 | Jenny Marlar
    The U.S. Payroll to Population employment rate (P2P), as measured by Gallup, worsened in May, dropping to 43.9%, from 44.5% in April. P2P is also down from May 2012, when it was 44.4%. ... Gallup's P2P metric is an estimate of the percentage of the U.S. adult population aged 18 and older who are employed full time by an employer for at least 30 hours per week. P2P is not seasonally adjusted.
  • Weekly Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected

    06/06/2013 6:44:43 AM PDT · by mykroar · 13 replies
    FoxBusiness.com ^ | June 06, 2013 | Reuters
    <p>The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to moderate job growth despite slowing economic activity.</p> <p>Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 3,000 more applications received than previously reported.</p>
  • Traders Confused: Is the Jobs Market Improving or Not?

    06/05/2013 7:11:37 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 47 replies
    CNBC ^ | 06/05/2013 | Bob Pisani
    Traders confused: is the job market improving, or not? Markets were volatile again today, this time on signs that the jobs market may not be as strong as some hoped. A report on private sector employment by ADP was weaker than expected, as was an employment gauge released as part of a survey of purchasing managers in the services industry. That is causing some to consider lowering their estimates for Friday's critical May jobs report. This is confusing, because Fed officials have been talking about tapering their purchases of bonds as the job market improves. So which is it? To...
  • No 'Great Recovery' in U.S.; ADP jobs number below expectations

    06/05/2013 1:22:34 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 8 replies
    An economic forecast says the country’s expected “Great Recovery” hasn’t materialized and the economy’s fallen short of even normal growth. The Los Angeles Times reports the gloomy picture appears in the quarterly UCLA Anderson Forecast released Wednesday. It says that real gross domestic product growth – the inflation-adjusted value of goods and services produced – is well below the 3percent growth trend of past recoveries. The forecast says the country isn’t creating enough good jobs. However, the forecast also says a housing market recovery should boost the GDP over the next two years and bring down unemployment, falling to 6.9...
  • MISS: US COMPANIES ADD ONLY 135,000 JOBS

    06/05/2013 6:01:33 AM PDT · by blam · 11 replies
    Business Insider ^ | 6-5-2013 | Sam Ro
    MISS: US COMPANIES ADD ONLY 135,000 JOBS Sam Ro June 5, 2013The ADP jobs report is out, and it's a miss. US companies added only 135,000 jobs in May, which was well below the 165,000 expected by economists. The April measure was also revised down to +113,000 from a prior reading of +119,000. "Notably, a gain of 5,000 jobs in the construction industry during May was offset by a decline of 6,000 lost jobs in the manufacturing industry," said ADP's Carlos Rodriguez. Here's a break down by company size: * Small (1-49 employees): +58,000 * Medium (50-499 employees): +39,000 *...
  • Report: US hasn't seen expected 'Great Recovery'

    06/05/2013 7:27:52 AM PDT · by Hojczyk · 17 replies
    Sun Herald ^ | June 5, 2013
    The Los Angeles Times ( http://lat.ms/13ESjj3) reports the gloomy picture appears in the quarterly UCLA Anderson Forecast released Wednesday. It says that real gross domestic product growth - the inflation-adjusted value of goods and services produced - is well below the 3-percent growth trend of past recoveries. The forecast says the country isn't creating enough good jobs. However, the forecast also says a housing market recovery should boost the GDP over the next two years and bring down unemployment, falling to 6.9 percent next year. California, meanwhile, outperformed the nation in job growth during a 12-month period that ended in...
  • Jobless claims unexpectedly rise, but still within 2013 range

    05/30/2013 8:41:38 AM PDT · by traumer · 18 replies
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but not enough to suggest a shift in the recent pattern of modest job gains. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 354,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 4,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to hold steady at 340,000 last week. A Labor Department analyst said claims for five states, including Virginia, Minnesota and Oregon, were estimated since state...
  • Family Medical Costs Still Rising (Obamacare destroys American Healthcare)

    05/22/2013 11:53:05 AM PDT · by tobyhill · 4 replies
    ny times ^ | 5/22/2013 | By REED ABELSON
    The good news is health care costs are going up more slowly. The bad news is that families continue to see larger medical bills. The typical cost to cover a family of four now exceeds $22,000, including the amount paid in insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, according to the latest Milliman Medical Index for 2013. Milliman, an actuarial and benefits consultant, puts the cost at slightly less than the amount a family might pay to send a child to an in-state public college for a year. This year’s increase over last was only 6.3 percent, according to the analysis from...
  • Tragic Trifecta: Initial Claims Soar, Housing Starts Plunge, CPI Below Expectations

    05/16/2013 5:49:23 AM PDT · by Perdogg · 17 replies
    We didn't really need a confirmation that the economy was deteriorating and completely disconnected from the "market", but we got it nonetheless. First, Initial Claims coming at 360K, on expectations of 330K, the worst print and worst miss in six weeks, confirming that weekly data is largely noise and that there is no sustainable downward trend. The May 11 weekly print adjusted and unadjusted were 360K and 318K respectively, virtually unchanged from a year ago at 373K and 325K, showing that in one year there has been essentially no progress, and that weekly initial claims of 350K is the new...
  • Many part-timers to lose pay amid health act's new math

    05/12/2013 8:45:00 AM PDT · by TurboZamboni · 64 replies
    la times/pioneer press ^ | 5-12-13 | chad tehune
    Many part-timers are facing a double whammy from President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. The law requires large employers offering health insurance to include part-time employees working 30 hours a week or more. But rather than provide health care to more workers, a growing number of employers are cutting back employee hours instead. The result: Not only will these workers earn less money, but they'll also miss out on health insurance at work. Consider the city of Long Beach, Calif. It is limiting most of its 1,600 part-time employees to fewer than 27 hours a week, on average. City officials...