Categories
Tags
autos budget deficit Case-Schiller China construction consumer drought ECB European debt crisis federal reserve financial crisis fiscal cliff gas prices Greece healthcare housing market inflation Italian elections Japan Japanese earthquake jobs labor market manufacturing Middle East NABE oil quantitative easing retail retail sales Sandy sequestration student loans trade wealth effectsMedia Mentions
- New York Times quotes Diane Swonk on jobs outlook 04.19.2013
Bloomberg asks Diane Swonk to explain Fed concern over unemployment
03.08.2013- Marketplace radio calls on Adolfo Laurenti for European analysis 02.26.2013
- Financial Times asks Diane Swonk about Fed caution 01.30.2013
- CNBC Asia turns to Adolfo Laurenti for European expertise
01.10.2013
Archives
Meta
Economic Minds Blog
Media Mentions
- New York Times quotes Diane Swonk on jobs outlook 04.19.2013
- Bloomberg asks Diane Swonk to explain Fed concern over unemployment
03.08.2013
- Marketplace radio calls on Adolfo Laurenti for European analysis 02.26.2013
- Financial Times asks Diane Swonk about Fed caution 01.30.2013
- CNBC Asia turns to Adolfo Laurenti for European expertise
01.10.2013
Who We Are
Founded in 1937, Mesirow Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in Chicago. We are an employee-owned, private company with approximately 1,200 employees globally.
Founded in 1937, Mesirow Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in Chicago. We are an employee-owned, private company with approximately 1,200 employees globally.
What We Do
Mesirow Financial understands, anticipates
and meets the financial needs of its clients – institutions, public sector entities, corporations and individuals – with a multitude of
high-quality products and services.
Mesirow Financial understands, anticipates
and meets the financial needs of its clients – institutions, public sector entities, corporations and individuals – with a multitude of
high-quality products and services.
Contact Us
353 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60654 (Map & Directions)
Phone: +1 312.595.6000
Toll Free: +1 800.453.0600
Chicago, IL 60654 (Map & Directions)
Phone: +1 312.595.6000
Toll Free: +1 800.453.0600
RSS Feeds
Copyright © 2013
Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
Terms and Conditions |
SEC Disclosure |
Privacy Policy | Independent Minds. Innovative Solutions.
Dirt in the Details for GDP, Jobless Claims
Real GDP rose 1.9% in the first quarter, the same as was reported last month. Imports were revised down and business investment was revised up, relative to previous estimates of GDP; this is welcome news, given how reluctant businesses have been to bet on the U.S. economy since the start of the recovery. Those gains were offset, however, by downward revisions to consumer spending, exports and inventories. The downward revisions to consumer spending and exports are particularly troubling, as they suggest consumers were less inspired by job gains and unusually warm winter weather in the first quarter than previously thought, while the drag associated with weaker global economic conditions had begun to emerge earlier.
Separately, weekly jobless claims fell to 386,000 last week, down 6,000 from the previous week, which hit 392,000. The four-week moving average remained about the same at 386,750, up significantly from the start of the year when claims were moving into the mid-300,000 range. Claims also remain below the elevated levels of 425,000 a year ago. Much of that improvement, however, is due to a drop in the number of people eligible for extensions to their unemployment insurance, rather than a decrease in layoffs. The results suggest another disappointing employment report for the month of June, due to be released July 6.
Bottom Line: The recovery remains extremely rocky, and although this summer’s data is not as bad as last summer’s data, the risks we face are even greater. European leaders are meeting today and we hope will come up with more tangible solutions to save the euro than they have in the past. Their implementation schedule, however, could still be too slow for market participants and not enough to stem panics in key markets. This is to say nothing of the inaction in Washington. Congress does look poised to come in with an eleventh-hour extension to the cap on student loans, and pass the highway bill (without earmarks) by the end of the week, but not much more. The “fiscal cliff” still looms.