Initial Jobless Claims

- 423,000 for the week ending 9/17
- down 5,000 from previous
- 4-week Moving Average 419,500 - flat
- slight improvement but still weak

Leading Economic Indicators

LEI for August was +0.3%.  This is a statistic calculated from other data and the low reading is the consequence of flight-to-quality

Operation Twist

Rarely have I seen more inane discussion over an economic topic. The fact that the Fed suggested that rearranging the deck chairs of duration was somehow stimulative is bizarre.  It will certainly lower Treasury yields on duration greater that or equal to 7 year and it will lower mortgage rates but the fact is that it is not the case that business is not hiring because of interest rates.  Business is not hiring because business, banks and consumers lack confidence.

What the Fed has in fact done is admit that its claim that they still have tools to deploy is bogus.

Comments

[Matt Penning]

A very apt phrase "rearranging the deck chairs"

We are in for a very long economic malaise. Lack of economic intelligence coupled with political will is depressing to me.

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