December 2011 U.S. Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Has America's housing market hit bottom?




WASHINGTON ` U.S. housing starts and permits for future construction jumped to a 1-1/2 year high in November as demand for rental apartments rose, suggesting the housing market was starting to recover.




The Commerce Department said on Tuesday housing starts surged 9.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 units, the highest since April last year.




Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts rising to a 635,000-unit rate. Compared to November last year, residential construction was up 24.3%.





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[Ally]

U.S. housing starts surge on apartment demand




WASHINGTON ` U.S. housing starts surged to a 1-1/2 year high in November and permits for future construction were the highest since March 2010 as demand for rental apartments rose, offering hope for the weak housing market.




The Commerce Department said on Tuesday housing starts jumped 9.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 units, the highest since April last year.




October`s starts were revised down to a 627,000-unit pace from a previously reported 628,000 unit rate.





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[Ally]

Job openings declined in October from three-year high in September; layoffs fall




WASHINGTON - U.S. employers advertised slightly fewer jobs in October, a modest decline from a three-year high hit in the previous month.




Companies and governments posted 3.3 million jobs in October, down from 3.4 million in September, the Labor Department said. October's level was the second highest in the past three years.




"Despite the retreat, the ... report still indicates that the labour market is heading in the right direction," Henry Mo, an economist at Credit Suisse, said in a note to clients.





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[Ally]

Housing market stands in the way of revitalized U.S. economy





It`s all about jobs, not universal health care, Mr. Obama (and not Steve Jobs). Especially when one in every six (48 million) Americans are living in poverty.




In recent months there has been a string of positive economic news flow out of the U.S., ranging from better than expected employment data to green shoots in the housing sector. Last month, for example, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.6 per cent, its lowest level in 2 1/2 years.




And this week we saw that new home construction in November also rose to the strongest level in almost two years.





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[Ally]

What's in store for jobs in 2012?



The U.S. economy added 1.6 million jobs over the last year, a figure that is dwarfed by the nation's 13.3 million unemployed and an additional 6.6 million people who are not in the labor force, despite still wanting jobs. At 1.6 million, jobs are being created at an average of 130,000 a month, barely enough to keep up with population growth. Will the country make any headway in 2012? Here are 5 things to expect from the U.S. job market in the next 12 months.





No Help from Congress





There is at least one year left of a divided Congress, with Republicans seemingly dead set on stopping President Obama's initiatives at every turn. Though the two parties disagree on exactly which measures might create jobs, they are less likely than ever in recent history to pass those measures. As the Washington Post has noted, the House and Senate have passed very few bills this year.





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[Ally]

U.S. jobless claims at 3.5 year low




New jobless claims in the U.S. dropped last week to the lowest level since May 2008, another sign that the U.S. labour market is healing. Job gains in November brought the unemployment rate to 8.6%, from 9%. The U.S. current account deficit narrowed to US$110.3-billion in the third quarter, the smallest since the final three months of 2009, as exports picked up and imports slowed. Spain sold `6.03-billion (US$7.8-billion) of debt, almost twice the target for Wednesday`s auction, and Italy also reached its target but rates soared as investors remain unconvinced that Italy`s new government can make the necessary reforms to cut the country`s `1.9-trillion (US$2.6-trillion) debt.




Unemployment in Britain reached a 17-year high ` 2.64 million people are jobless with women and young people hardest hit. Canadian household debt hit a new high, at 153% of annual disposable income, surpassing both the U.S. and Britain. For one in 10 Canadians, the cost of servicing their debt consumes more than 40% of their income. Canadian industries were operating at 81.3% of capacity in the third quarter, up from 79.9% in the second quarter and a low of 69.4% in mid-2009; however, factory sales slumped in October, confirming suspicions of a year-end slowdown.





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[Ally]

U.S. growth slower than thought





U.S. economic growth was slower than previously estimated in the third quarter on a sharp drop in health care spending, but stronger business investment and a fall in inventories pointed to a pickup in output in the current period.




Gross domestic product grew at a 1.8 per cent annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said in its final estimate on Thursday, down from the previously estimated 2 per cent.





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