If Mark Zandi and his "whatever it takes" seasonal-adjusters at ADP are to be believed, the US manufacturing sector added the most jobs in 11 months in December. Our question is simple - with ISM Manufacturing Employment at post-recession lows and US Manufacturing PMIs at post-recesssion lows, and inventories-to-sales ratios at post-recession highs, why are goods-producers hiring at such a frantic pace?
Double-Seasonal-adjustment?
Great news right? For those hoping for some "bad news is good news to slow The Fed down" data, ADP is a disappointment. The December monthly change was a rise of 257k - hugely better than the expected 198k and th ebiggest rise since December 2014. Most importantly the goods-producing sector added a shocking 23,000 jobs - despite every single manufacturing indicator deep in recession. Service-sector jobs added 234k.
Best jobs gains in a year (does that sound right?)
The details from the report:
A Colorado meat packing plant in Fort Morgan has fired 190 Muslim workers, most of them from Somalia, who were protesting their rights to pray during the day. The Independent reports: Staff at Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan, Colorado, were fired 10 days after the mass walk-out, according to the Denver Post. More than 200 workers, who are mainly Muslims from Somalia, took part in the protest along with the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who negotiated with the company on their behalf.
A high flying female executive of the British multinational retailer, Marks & Spencer, has been dismissed from her job for allegedly using racist language at work. The Daily Mail reports: Suzanna Broer, 33, was said to have been fired for ‘gross misconduct’ in November, less than a month after she oversaw the launch of the new reward card. It comes after a tough festive period for M&S, with some forecasters predicting the retail giant will report up to a 5.5 per cent drop in like-for-like sales.
Submitted by Harry Debt via EconomyAndMarkets.com,
A Yahoo Finance headline this morning reads: “Unhappy New Year: The U.S. Economy Is Stalling Out.”
We recently learned that existing home sales in November crashed 10.5% from the month before.
Guess when the last time was when we saw these levels? The housing crisis of the mid- to late-2000s!