Monday, February 8, 2010
Treasury security prices rose Friday, pushing two-year note yields down to the lowest level in eight weeks, after a report showed the economy lost more jobs than expected last month. The concerns about European countries difficulty in financing deficits continued to attract investors to the safety of U.S. debt. The yield on two- and 10-year notes each fell four basis points to end the week at 0.76% and 3.57% respectively. Stocks were on a roller coaster ride Friday, first plunging around the world early in the day, then rallying strongly by the end of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased a 167 point drop in the final hour of trading on speculation the European Union would spend the weekend working on a solution to financing the deficits of Greece and Spain.
The economy lost an additional 20,000 jobs in January, following a decline of 150,000 jobs in December, according to the Labor Department's monthly nonfarm payrolls report released Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 9.7% in January, its lowest since August, from 10.0% last month. The overall unemployment rate's decline resulted from a 541,000 year-over-year increase in employment and a 111,000 person increase in the labor force. The gain brought the participation rate, or the share of the population in the labor force, up to 64.7% in January from 64.6%. Manufacturing added 11,000 jobs in January, the first monthly increase in three years, while factories saw a modest increase in the length of the workweek. The Labor Department also revised its previous estimates for the number of jobs lost over the past 25 months. The adjustments show that since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost 8.4 million jobs, or 1.4 million more than previously reported.
Consumer credit fell $1.7 billion in December, less than expected, following a record $21.8 billion plunge in November that was larger than previously estimated according to a Federal Reserve report Friday. Borrowing fell for an 11th straight month, the longest string of declines on record.
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed to be reliable: however Southeast Corporate does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. All opinions and estimates included in this report constitute Southeast's judgment as of the date of this report and are subject to change without notice.
