What happened today?
The Empire State Manufacturing Index came in about 90% weaker than expected. The Empire State Manufacturing Index is a number based on surveys of a few hundred manufacturers in the NY State area. They boil all the questions down into a number or index. (For some reason I see many of these indexes as being created with something like the "everlasting gobstopper machine" from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory story. Remember that thing? It was a massive machine that exlaimed a series of honks, splats, dings and blasts before the "Index" number is spit out the bottom.)
So: ESM (above) was reported at 2.55 vs. the 25.00 that was expected. Contrast that with the 23.51 that was reported last month. What does it mean? There are less orders being created and filled so manufacturing is weak. This usually is an early signal of less retail demand among other things and tends to push money into bonds.
The Producer's Price Index was also reported today. This is a number created in a similar way...with the everlasting gobstopper machine. A set group of goods is compared for pricing from month to month. So: Elements that producers use to manufacture goods are all lined up with the most current price tags on them. The total price of the same set of goods is compared from month to month with previous months. This last month: we see an increase in pricing by 1.8%
CORE PPI or CORE Producer's Price Index is reported by removal of the Energy and Food Prices. Those tend to be very volatile and can skew the numbers. The CORE PPI was reported at about .5% for last month. This "annualized" would be (0.5 x 12) about a 6% inflation rate which is higher than the expected rate of inflation in a healthy economy at around 3 to 4%.
FNMA 4.5% Bond tanked a little today losing another 25 basis points. We are a way off of where we were a few weeks ago.
Remember the Wells Plan to offer up 10.2 Billion in Stocks? They weren't the only bank to do that and the financial sector was a little beat up as there was so much "SUPPLY" vs. the demand out there today.
Oil is up just over $70/barrel again after Opec announced a forecast for greater demand.
Dow lost 49 points.
Dollar lost some steam on the inflation news and gold held on losing just a dollar.
Cheers!
Chad
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Chad Schauers
Have you metChad?
MetLife Home Loans
406.522.0922
406.522.0924 (fax)
1924 W. Stevens, Ste. 202
Bozeman, MT 59718
Cell: 406 799 8613
cschauers@metlife.com
--
Chad Schauers
Have you metChad?
MetLife Home Loans
406.522.0922
406.522.0924 (fax)
1924 W. Stevens, Ste. 202
Bozeman, MT 59718
Cell: 406 799 8613
cschauers@metlife.com
