Good morning!
Rarely does a double-digit unemployment rate generate as much enthusiasm as it did last week. When the government reported last Friday that the percentage of idled workers nationwide had fallen to 10.0% in November (from 10.2% the prior month), stock investors exhaled with relief. Although the number of unemployed American workers exceeds 15 million (up more than 4 million this year), market watchers have been waiting for a sign that the worst may finally be behind us. The 11,000 lost jobs from November was the smallest monthly total reported since our country’s recession began in December 2007 (source: Department of Labor).
After the reception Ben Bernanke received from the Senate Banking Committee during his confirmation hearing last week, the Fed Chairman may be wondering if he really wants his current job for another 4 years. There are a small number of congressmen that expect the head of our nation’s central bank to not only be able to react effectively when global economic turmoil arises, but preferably he would also be able to avoid most financial problems by anticipating the future (source: Senate).
The full House is expected to take up H.R. 4173 this week (“The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act”). Months of work by the House Financial Services Committee was concluded last week on 9 different pieces of legislation that are intended to reform derivatives, predatory lending, credit rating agencies, executive compensation, and also stop the practice of “too big to fail” (source: House).
Notable Numbers for the Week:
1. NO QUICK FIX - The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that ended on 11/04/09 indicate its 10 members that were in attendance believe it will take 5-6 years (from now) for the US economy to return to a growth, employment and inflation level consistent with the Fed’s objectives (source: Federal Reserve).
2. SHOW ME - The 12 regional Fed banks were selected in 1913 or 96 years ago. 2 of the 12 are in the state of Missouri (St. Louis and Kansas City) and only 1 regional Fed bank is west of Dallas (source: Federal Reserve).
3. STARTER HOME - First-time home buyers transacted nearly half (47%) of all home purchases in 2009, up from 41% in 2008 (source: National Association of Realtors).
4. WHAT’S UP DOC? - The US is projected to have a shortage of 85,000 physicians by the year 2020 in the specialties of cardiology, oncology, primary care and general surgery (source: American Medical Association).
12/07/09 Monday
