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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (16737)	11/24/2004 10:23:10 AM
From: CalculatedRisk	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116555

UMich Finds Consumer Sentiment Up a Bit NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment brightened slightly in November, helped by cheaper gasoline and a better jobs outlook, a survey released on Wednesday showed. The University of Michigan's final reading of its consumer confidence index for November was 92.8, up from a final October reading of 91.7, according to market sources who saw the subscription-only report. Analysts on average had forecast the index would rise to 96.0. The November preliminary reading came in at 95.5. Consumer confidence is considered a barometer in consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy, although the correlation between consumer confidence and retail sales has not been strong in recent years. news.yahoo.com

To: mishedlo who wrote (16737)	11/24/2004 10:25:36 AM
From: CalculatedRisk	Respond to of 116555

Help-Wanted Advertising Index Increases One Point November 24, 2004 The Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index - a key barometer of America's job market - increased one point in October. The Index now stands at 37. It was 36 one year ago. In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in six of the nine U.S. regions. Largest declines occurred in the Mountain (-7.2%), East North Central (-5.9%) and South Atlantic (-5.3%) regions. Help-wanted advertising increased in the New England (13.1%), West South Central (5.5%) and East South Central (1.6%) regions. Says Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein: "Despite the outsized job gain in October, the measure of labor demand going forward remains relatively flat, as does the number signing up for their unemployment checks. Both initial jobless claims and want-ad volume have remained flat since early 2004. Except for two outbursts of job growth (one in the spring and one in October) the lack of steady improvement in employment has weakened consumer confidence, especially with respect to where the labor market is going in the next six months. Moreover, with the Leading Economic Index declining for five straight months, prospects are that the economy will be growing too slowly to allow the labor market more than an occasional good month in the first half of 2005." The Conference Board surveys help-wanted advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country every month. Because ad volume has proven to be sensitive to labor market conditions, this measure provides a gauge of change in the local, regional and national supply of jobs. conference-board.org