Private nonfarm payrolls in the US are projected to increase 206,000 (seasonally adjusted) in tomorrow’s November update from the Labor Department, based on The Capital Spectator’s median point forecast for several econometric estimates. The monthly prediction reflects a slight deceleration in growth vs. October’s 209,000 gain. Compared with two estimates based on recent surveys of…
Back in March the ECB predicted 2014 inflation would be 1.0%, with prices rising to 1.3% in 2015. Since then one can say that deflation has once again taken hold, and following two consecutive cuts to 2014 inflation expectations, moments ago Draghi just released the ECB’s latest set of inflation expectations. In a nutshell: in just…
The vastly improved fiscal situation may last only a few years, but it’s a big plus for U.S. markets and the U.S. dollar — and another nail in the coffin for the gold bugs and doom-and-gloomers who can add one more item to the long list of things they got really, really wrong.” Why the US’s…
Liberty Teller, the MassChallenge startup that opened four Bitcoin ATM machines around the Boston area, has rebranded itself into LibertyX and will now allow users to purchase the digital currency around 2,500 locations in 33 states across the country. LibertyX’s founder says that it include 60 locations around Massachusetts and 9 locations around the Boston…
Click on picture to enlarge Job growth has moved higher for the 49th straight month, setting a new all-time record, surpassing the previous record set in June of 1990. 200,000 jobs have been created for the past 9 months, this is the longest streak of this size since the mid 1990’s. Click on picture to…
The stock whisper of the day: (JNUG) (JBLU). Video Length: 00:03:29
After last week’s jerk higher (now revised even higher to 314k), this week saw a modest 17k drop to 297k (magically back below the 300k Maginot Line) but still missed expectations. Obviously, initial claims still linger near 14 year lows but the smoother 4 week average rose around 5k to 299k. Continuing claims rose 39k and…
Since 2010, the average return for our weekly best scoring small caps has outpaced the R2K by a median 759 bps over the following year. The best performers from one year ago are HA up 132%, CNC up 65%, UEIC up 63%, and ODFL up 58%. The best small cap sector is utilities. The top…
No matter how well you plan, unexpected surprises can derail your budget. While it’s a good idea to have an emergency fund, if you have one, how do you decide when to dip into the fund? Is replacing a broken microwave an emergency? There are a set amount of expenses that aren’t emergencies, but they…
The decline in oil prices—the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate as of Dec. 1 is down roughly 35% since the recent peak in June 2014 —has inspired bullish expectations for consumer spending and related investments. As the Washington Post noted earlier this week: “Tumbling oil prices are draining hundreds of billions of dollars from the coffers of oil-rich exporters…
