U.S. Economic Data 5/17/2012

+ Housing recovery continues.

+- Jobless Claims remain steady.

- Leading Indicators point to struggling recovery.

- Case and point: While the Empire Manufacturing gauge remains in solid positive territory, Philly Manufacturing gauge is negative for April.

- Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort falls to nearly 4 month low.   

Weekly Bull/Bear Recap: January 16-20, 2012

Bull

+ Jobless claims plunge 50K to their lowest level in almost 3 years and clearly demonstrate a strengthening labor market.  Increased confidence means increased credit use = strengthening recovery.  Banks and homebuilders have been leading the ongoing S&P 500 rally. 

+ Manufacturing shows more signs of stabilization, not an imminent recession.  The Empire Manufacturing Survey rises more than 5 points, while the 6-month outlook surges 10 points.  Last week’s ghastly rail traffic report (intermodal) was nothing more than an aberration.  This week’s report shows a sharp rebound, outperforming last year by 7.4%.  Industrial Production rebounds 0.4%, lead by manufacturing’s best performance since December 2010 (+0.9% vs. -0.4% in November).     

+ Inflation is cooling and will give the Fed leeway to initiate further monetary policy (it’s becoming a worldwide phenomenon: Goldilocks environment coming up?).  If economic conditions slow, the bears won’t be able to seize control of the market as the Fed will act as a bullish albatross over their machinations.

+ Risk markets power higher for the week, while copper breaks out of its consolidating triangle to the upside, a sign that the global economy is poised to reaccelerate.  Chinese data strengthens the “further stimulus” and “soft-landing” thesis.  Furthermore, markets are sensing continued progress in the Eurozone crisis.  Confidence is making a comeback, as the German ZEW investor survey hints at a turning point for the Eurozone’s largest economy.  

+ The housing market continues its recovery.  Mortgage applications for purchase rise 10.3% after an 8.1% increase in the prior week; the result is higher home sales.  Furthermore, record low mortgage rates are spurring refinancing applications, surging 26.4% this past week to their best levels since August.  More refinancings = more disposable income for the consumer due to lower monthly mortgage payments.  Finally, the NAHB housing market index rises 4 points to its best reading in 4.5 years.    

Bear

- Sentiment is nearing euphoric levels.  Retail investors and even financial advisors are expecting stock prices to move higher.  The wall of worry that characterizes bull markets has crumbled.  Remember rule number 5 by Bob Farrell, “The public buys the most at the top and the least at the bottom.”

- Meanwhile, this earnings season has seen the lowest percentage of companies beating analysts estimates since the 3rd quarter in 2008; I don’t need to tell you what happened thereafter.  Furthermore,…

- … the EFSF is hit with a downgrade.  Authorities brush it off.  More downgrades are coming.  The political tide is turning against the Euro .  Marine La Pen of the anti-euro National Front party is making serious gains in the polls.  François Hollande is closer to winning the French presidency and will demand a renegotiation of the euro fiscal compact. On the Greek front, “Even members of the committee concede the process (Greek private sector involvement negotiations) is unlikely to succeed in time for the crunch date: a 14.5bn bond repayment falling due on March 20.”  Finally, if things were all hunky dory, why is the IMF asking for $500 billion?  —-The news trend keeps getting worse.     

- ISCS and Redbook weekly consumer metrics are showing a serious slowdown, even after last month’s disappointing Retail Sales report.  Furthermore, national gas prices have risen roughly 3.6% and the consumer is already feeling it.  Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort Index falls to -47.4.

- While China’s GDP numbers beat analyst expectations, they portray significant weakening in the country’s export and real estate sectors.  Furthermore, persistently high inflation will limit the amount of stimulus authorities can administer.   

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Be sure to check out my latest macro outlook and market forecasts.  Thanks for your support.   

Weekly Bull/Bear Recap: X-Mas ‘11 Edition

Bull

++ U.S. data continues to show an economy that’s weathering a turbulent global economy much better than the bears could have ever anticipated:

• The Dow Theory has flagged a buy signal.  Both the Dow and Trannie indices  notch new highs.  This price action corroborates underlying U.S. economic strength.  The equity bull market is set to continue. 
• The Conference Board’s Leading Indicator surpasses the consensus estimate of 0.3%, rising 0.5%.  “The LEI is pointing to continued growth this winter, possibly even gaining a little momentum by spring,” Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said.
• The downward trend in Jobless claims has driven a stake right through the heart of the “U.S. recession” thesis.  Jobless claims fall to the lowest since April 2008.
• Michigan Consumer Sentiment surprises to the upside with a final reading of 69.9 from 64.1 in November and represents a 6-month high.  Consumer psyche is healing as the economy improves.
• The housing market continues on its steady recovery with the NAHB Housing Index producing its best reading since 2008.   Housing Starts surge well ahead of expectations.  Even better, rising permits point to more building in the months ahead (i.e. jobs will be created).  Typically the housing market has led recoveries in times past.  Homebuilder stocks are near 5-month highs.    
• The Architectural Billings Index is back in positive territory.  Expectations are clearly displaying a bottoming construction sector (look at the divergence between current conditions and expectations).  It’s nowhere but up from here.  This important sector will finally contribute to economic growth.

++  European economic data points to stabilization. Even stabilizing data, along with renewed and unprecedented efforts to steady the banking system, will result in renewed confidence and rallying markets.    

• Germany’s salient Ifo Business Climate Index turns in a better than expected reading of 107.2 from 106.6 and is its second consecutive increase.  Meanwhile, GfK’s notes that gains in consumer confidence over the past two months will hold.  ”Unemployment in Europe’s largest economy is at a two-decade low of 6.9 percent, supporting consumer spending and helping to limit the impact of the euro-region turmoil.”  German Business Expectations also show a better than expected reading.
• The Spanish 10-yr yield plunges and signals renewed confidence that the crisis is being contained (same for France, Ireland and Belgium)
• November Italian Retail Sales pleasantly surprise with a reading of +0.1% versus expectations of a 0.2% contraction, while political backing for austerity measures to ameliorate the crisis remains strong.   
• The ECB has provided Eurozone officials time to push forward with the creation of a “fiscal compact” and improve crisis fighting measures.  Little by little, the ECB is moving closer to outright QE.  This eventual result means that the solution investors are looking for will eventually come and the crisis will be eliminated.  

Bear

-  European economic data foretells more social and political pressures on the horizon.  Spanish Industrial Orders disappoint with a meager gain of 0.9% for December versus consensus expectations of 4.0%.  Italian 4^th quarter GDP signals the start of the country’s 5th recession in the past 10 years (consumer confidence plunges to 1996 levels).  France is likely in recession as well.  Greek bailout talks are about to collapse as Vega threatens to sue.      

- The S&P 500 is nearing its late October highs, yet there are clear red flags in regards to the rally’s health.  The complacency is palpable.  The VIX has plunged to 20, a far cry from “blood on the streets” that sustains any significant rally.  Meanwhile, 10-yr U.S. Treasury yields are nowhere near challenging their late October highs.  Ditto for copper.  These stark differences are bearish divergences.  Italian 10-yr yields are back above the 7% level (yields for Greece and Portugal are hugging their respective high marks as well).  Banks are using their “newfound wealth” to stash more cash with the ECB, not buy crap government debt as the bulls had hoped.  Nothing fundamentally has changed in the Eurozone or China.  

- Recent economic data exemplifies the pervasive weakness slowly infecting the global economy.  Unrest continues in China and is likely to grow amidst weakening export growth and a popping housing bubble.  November Japanese exports fall 4.5% YoY.  

• 3^rd quarter U.S. GDP has now been revised lower by 25%, plunging from an initial reading of 2.46% to 1.81%.  This adjustment was largely due to a sharp downward revision in annualized consumer services consumption and cautious inventory management.  Real per-capita disposable income is imploding @ an -1.9% annualized rate and will seriously impede the longer-term prospects of any recovery…  
• …November PCE: Personal Spending in November rose just 0.1%, while the all-important wage component fell 0.1%.  The Savings Rate fell 0.1% to 3.5%, the lowest since the onset of recession in 2007.  Consumption growth will not be sustainable without a significant improvement in the employment situation.   
• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) disappoints with a reading of -0.37 from -0.11.  The decrease is led by a sharp decrease in production-related indicators (i.e. Industrial Production/Manufacturing).  
• The Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index doesn’t show a decoupling U.S. economy; instead it shows one that is simply muddling through and vulnerable to an exogenous shock, such as an Eurozone implosion or a Chinese hard-landing.   

- Iran announces plans to conduct a 10-day naval exercise at the Straits of Hormuz, feasibly impeding oil freight traffic.  The game of cat-and-mouse has the potential to upend the global recovery if it spirals out of control.  Relations between Israel and Turkey take a turn for the worse after Israel cancels a large military contract.