It is always important when analyzing data to consider the relevance and importance of such numbers. So, before looking at the numbers from the lastest ISM reports, let us look at what Briefing.com states about the ISM manufacturing reports at Economic Releases: ISM Index. Under the title “Big Picture” it states the following:
This is a highly overrated index. It is merely a survey of purchasing managers. It is a diffusion index, which means that it reflects the number of people saying conditions are better compared to the number saying conditions are worse. It does not weight for size of the firm, or for the degree of better/worse. It can therefore underestimate conditions if there is a great deal of strength in a few firms. The data have thus not been either a good forecasting tool or a good read on current conditions during this business cycle. It must be recognized that the index is not hard data of any kind, but simply a survey that provides broad indications of trends.
Obviously any report can be overrated if interpreted in the wrong way. One way this report seems to be over used and misinterpreted is by relative changes in the index instead of considering the “breakevens” in practice. For example if the headline ISM index drops by 6 points it is significantly more important if it drops from above 50 to below 50 than if the index drops from the 60s to 50s range. The first signifying a reversal of growth and the second a slowing of the growth rate which might actually be good. That is, instead of an overheated economy with growing number of bottlenecks it may signify a stable growth trajectory.
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The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) has again graced us with another two reports on the Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®. In this and other posts on the ISM, we wish to delve deeper into the raw numbers and get a better degree of understanding of the underlying currents in the macro-economy. Along the way let us also look at other voices and opinions of the macro-view.
Headline Numbers of ISM Report On Business®.
The PMI index {manufacturing index} was reported as 56.2% and NMI (non-manufacturing index/composite index) was reported as 53.8%. Both numbers missed Market Watch’s Economic Calendar consensus numbers with ISM Manufacturing consensus at 59% and Non-Manufacturing at 55.3%. Econoday reports ISM Mfg Index as 59 consensus and the range as 57.6 to 59.7 and ISM Non-Mfg Index as 55 consensus and the range as 53.5 to 56 which indicates that only non-manufacturing fell within the range of consensus.
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By Phil of Phil’s Stock World
“The rich are less susceptible to the shame and fear-mongering used by the government and the mortgage banking industry to keep underwater homeowners from acting in their financial best interest.” – Brent White
One in seven homeowners with loan over $1M are in default. That compares to 1 in 12 loans below the $1M mark. This is putting a huge amount of stress on the financial system as 23% of all luxury homes bought as investments are now 90 days or more overdue compared to just 9% of the smaller homes. Don’t think of this as a 1:1 relationship either as the cut-off of $1M means that a single $10M unpaid mortgage above the line is worth 100 $100,000 loans (the national average) that are unpaid below the line so the distortion from a cash basis is close to a level of 100:1, which just so happens to be the difference in the income level between the top 1% and the bottom 99% as well! Read more…
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This post focuses on the issues that the European Union is facing currently. Many of these problems have come to the surface with the mounting fiscal crisis in Greece and more broadly the PIIGS. PIIGS stand for the countries of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. The Economist magazine provides some basic facts about each countries debt and what steps have been taken to address the issues at FACTBOX-Eurozone’s embattled fringe PIIGS economies which includes a link to the following chart.
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Even if the economy is starting to turn around as noted in many of my posts at ‘Macro View of the Markets’, we are facing a major threat of high unemployment rates overhanging economic growth in the long run. The article entitled Initial jobless claims rise 17,000 to 474,000 Total jobless claims, including extended benefits, top 10 million sums up this overhang:
Over the past several months, the claims data have flashed two somewhat contradictory messages: Fewer people are losing their jobs than were six months ago, but once a job is lost, it’s very hard to find another one.
This most definitely indicates a need for a WH Jobs Summit. Although not much usually happens at such summits it strikes me as a bad decision to exclude from invitation both the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business where the event featured 133 guests. A couple of names should be familiar on the invite list including world famous economists like Joseph Stiglitz, Jeffrey Sachs and lastly but not least Paul Krugman. Well sure enough Dr. Krugman provided a glimpse of what he may have been thinking of when going to the summit at The Jobs Imperative.
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Paul Krugman has again drawn the attention of other economists and myself to some of his loose thinking. His most recent post at the Op-Ed of the New York Times is entitled Free to Lose. This blog post will be referring back to that article often so best to read it first.
Can Krugman Understand Economics?
Steven E. Landsburg, Professor of Economics at the University of Rochester, gave one of the best backhanded complements ever to Krugman at Krugman to the Rescue.
It’s always impressive to see one person excel in two widely disparate activities: a first-rate mathematician who’s also a world class mountaineer, or a titan of industry who conducts symphony orchestras on the side. But sometimes I think Paul Krugman is out to top them all, by excelling in two activities that are not just disparate but diametrically opposed: economics (for which he was awarded a well-deserved Nobel Prize) and obliviousness to the lessons of economics (for which he’s been awarded a column at the New York Times).
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In my first post of Macro View of the Markets, I concluded with the line: But in the meantime, do not expect the global imbalances to be corrected. This time I continue in that same spirit by examining an article by Paul Krugman entitled: The Chinese Disconnect. Although it is now common knowledge about global imbalances, Krugman still has a platform to address these pedestrian issues which draws considerable attention.
Senior monetary officials usually talk in code. So when Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, spoke recently about Asia, international imbalances and the financial crisis, he didn’t specifically criticize China’s outrageous currency policy.
But he didn’t have to: everyone got the subtext. China’s bad behavior is posing a growing threat to the rest of the world economy. The only question now is what the world — and, in particular, the United States — will do about it.
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