Recession Watch:
Broader Unemployment Rate Rises to 16.2%:
The comprehensive gauge of labor underutilization, known as the U-6 for its data classification by the Labor Department, accounts for people who have stopped looking for work or who can’t find full-time jobs. The key to the rise in the broader unemployment rate was due to a 430,000 jump in the number of people employed part time but who would prefer full-time work. That number could reflect a rising number of workers who saw their hours cut back by concerned bosses or new part-time hires who would prefer full time work. blogs.wsj.com
The U.S. is facing an unprecedented long-term unemployment problem that could lead to elevated joblessness for a while. That means the gap between where unemployment stands now, at 9.1%, and full employment may not be as wide as it appears. But it also means more expansive monetary policy won’t be as effective in curing what ails the labor market, Andreas Hornstein, Thomas A. Lubik and Jessie Romero argue in a new paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. blogs.wsj.com
WTI price (I can't find a LT Brent chart to post). Red line = 200 Day ma. Gold line = 5 year moving average. The 200dma has failed, worse than what happened in mid-2010. The 5Yma, showing the LT uptrend in oil prices, has been support so far. A good general rule: buy energy stocks when oil is below the 5Yma, or when we bounce there during bull markets. Sell when 10$ or more above the 5Yma. In bull market, we should get above,and stay above, the 5Yma.
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