Jim, the one thing that all the talking heads ignored in the employment report last week was the 60,000 more jobs lost in the manufacturing/industrial sectors.
Those $20-$35 an hour jobs will never come back as far as I can tell.
But McDonald's is hiring....They have a new menu you know, with salads driving same store sales a 'whopping' 6%!!!!!
Of course they closed 700 stores worldwide...
McDonald's to boost Japan prices, Big Mac up 26%
Monday June 9, 6:23 am ET
TOKYO, June 9 (Reuters) - McDonald's Holdings Co Ltd (Japan) (2702.Q), the nation's biggest restaurant chain, said on Monday it would boost price of its Big Mac hamburger by 26 percent to 250 yen ($2.11) from July 1 as part of a general price rise.
The company said plain hamburger prices would rise 36 percent to 80 yen and prices of most set menus by four to 11 percent.
The increases follow the company's aggressive price cuts in August 2002 that failed to reverse a downtrend in sales. At that time, the price of plain hamburgers was cut to 59 yen from 80.
"We need to cope with diversified needs of customers. Low prices alone won't draw customers," a spokeswoman said.
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Don't count gains from weaker dollar just yet
Monday June 9, 9:47 am ET
By Nick Olivari
NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - Investors buying stocks on expectations that the weak dollar is going to be a big driver of second-quarter earnings may be expecting too much, too soon, some Wall Street insiders say.
Some boost from the dollar's decline is expected but it is likely to come later later in the year, and could be offset if the dollar begins to firm.
There will be a lag between the dollar's decline against other major currencies and when consumers, in the U.S. and overseas, begin to change spending patterns, said Anthony Chan, senior managing director and chief economist at Banc One Investment Advisors Corp., which oversees $160 billion,
Worse, any gains in stock prices based on expectations for the currency may quickly evaporate. A weaker dollar makes locally manufactured exported goods less expensive and hence more competitive in global markets, increasing profits.
But since higher profits are likely to push up demand for U.S. securities, that will also stoke demand for the dollar, pushing up its price.
"What we're in is a vicious circle," said Diane Garnick, chief U.S. strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
Other short-term dangers to a weakened dollar also exist.
As the currency weakens, U.S.-dollar denominated assets become less attractive to foreign investors who run the risk of losing any profits when they translate back into their home currencies. That may make them sell U.S. stocks and buy elsewhere.
"Although the falling dollar is unambiguously positive for U.S. growth, large currency shifts have the potential to cause financial instability," according to BCA Research, a Montreal-based research firm. |
