| mib - Freitag, 21. Dezember 2001 - 14:59 |
| wenigstens an dieser Front scheint ja allmaehlich mal wieder Vernunft einzukehren!!! 07:55 ET B of A on Energy : Banc of America Securities is more positive on diversified energy companies after swift recapitalizations by several companies and a Moody's conference call in which the agency couldn't point to any fundamental reasons for its downgrades; B of A says the Moody's call demonstrated that its recent downgrades were the result of confusion and have led to a significant loss of credibility for Moody's. Note mentions DYN, MIR, EPG, and CPN. |
| j_r_ewing - Freitag, 4. Januar 2002 - 10:55 |
| http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5ERUT&d=c&k=c3&t=2y&l=on&z=m&q=b http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5ERUT&d=c&k=c3&p=m200,m20,m50&t=2y&l=on&z=m&q=l GD 200: / GD 38 dürfte GD 200 nach oben geschnitten haben (siehe GD 20, GD 50) Kurs oberhalb von allen dreien Kurstrend 3M : / Kurs hat 22M-\ durchschnitten Dein Kommentar, Prof... ? Gruß JR |
| mib - Montag, 14. Januar 2002 - 15:05 |
| 07:03 ET Merrill Lynch Equity Allocation : Sources at Merrill Lynch are telling us the firm says equity valuations now seem extreme, lowers stock allocation to 50% from 60%, raises bonds to 30% from 20%, and keeps cash at 20%. |
| j_r_ewing - Mittwoch, 23. Januar 2002 - 07:11 |
| Drüben scheint sich wieder was zu rühren (Einschübe in [ ] von mir): "NAPM Index, Now The ISM Index Dick Rippe, Managing Director 01-02-2002 02:15 ET The National Association Of Purchasing Managers (NAPM) is now called the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). The index came in at 48.2 up from 44.5 in November. 50.0 is neutral in the series [ ! ], so it is still declining. We were estimating a range of 45.0 to 46.0. The consensus was 45.5. This is a stronger result than the Chicago Index which came in at 41.4 last week. That caused most people, including ourselves to lower estimates for the National Index. Two important categories, production and orders, are actually registering gains. Production is at 50.6 [ !! ]. That is up from 47.1 in November. New orders are at 54.9, up from 48.8 [ !!! ]. These components have come back to where they were before September 11th. Export orders were weaker at 48.0 down from 49.3. That would suggest the foreign economies are sluggish. Inventories continue to decline [ ! ]. They are at 37.7. Employment continues to fall at 40.5. 50.0 is neutral on all of these measures. The supplier delivery index, which is a measure of lead times, is at 48.0. So lead times are still shortening. Prices continue to decline. Prices are at 34.7. This is a little up from 31.6, but it is still a very negative price reading, indicating industrial and commodity prices are still declining. (...) " Mit anderen Worten: Während die Läger sich weiter leeren, ist die Produktion schon wieder leicht im positiven Bereich. Das Beste aber: die Aufträge sind deftig nach oben gesprungen in den positiven Bereich !! Und das trotz aller Arbeitslosigkeit ! (Natürlich sind das die üblichen Ami-Statistiken: aus der Hüfte geschossen, und man muß abwarten, ob die nicht noch kräftig revidiert werden und ob der nächste Monat gleichsinnig ausfällt.) Den NAPM-Index halte ich für den gegenwärtig wohl besten Indikator, weil er sowohl aussagestark als auch zeitnah, ja teilweise (in der Komponente "Aufträge") vorlaufend ist. Da wird nicht nur Stammtisch-Stimmung wiedergegeben, sondern da liegt der Finger am Puls der Zeit. Die Preise etwa folgen den Mengen, laufen also nach. Gleichfalls hochgeschossen war die Consumer Confidence (obwohl ich die für weniger wichtig, weil unzuverlässiger und nachläufig halte - so ähnlich, wie die Börsen-Stimmung auch erst immer NACH der Rally hochkommt); ebenfalls trotz der schlechten Arbeitsmarktlage ! Heute kamen noch die Frühindikatoren dazu - mit Rekordwerten : 10:00AM US leading indicators up 1.2% in Dec. by Rex Nutting The index of leading economic indicators rose 1.2 percent in December, a "strong signal" that "the recession could be over soon," the Conference Board said Tuesday. Eight of the 10 indicators rose in December, fueling the strongest increase in the index since February 1996. The biggest contributors to December's gain were declines in initial jobless claims, the wide interest rate spread and the growing money supply. The only two negatives were weak new orders for capital goods and consumer goods. The index rose 0.8 percent in November, making the best two-month gain since 1992, when the economy was pulling out of the last recession. The coincident index rose 0.1 percent and the lagging index fell 0.1 percent in December. The indexes are designed to forecast and confirm turning points in the economy. (Man muß hier leider einschränkend bemerken, daß der Auftragseingang für die Investitionsgüter und die Konsumgüter, die beiden negativen Komponenten, natürlich einen relativ hohen Stellenwert haben.) Auch sehr interessant sind natürlich die SEMI-Zahlen zur book-to-bill-ratio; eigentlich müßten die schon raus sein - schade, daß die das noch nicht gebacken gekriegt haben ! Wenn jetzt noch Industrieproduktion / Investitionsgüterumsätze hochkämen, hätten wir eine bildschöne Investitionssektor-getriebene Erholung ! Aber das wird wohl noch etwas dauern. Ihr könnt Euch wohl vorstellen, wie ich auf die NAPM-Zahlen zu Januar geiere ! Wenn die die Vormonatszahlen bestätigen, ist für mich das Ende der Rezession in Sicht. Mal wieder bezeichnend, daß grad jetzt, wo der Silberstreif am Horizont auftaucht, die Börse abschmiert... Das kann ja wohl nicht alles "sell on good news" sein ! Na ja, mir kam der ganze Optimismus reichlich verfrüht vor, und der Gegenwind der gestiegenen Zinsen macht die Bewertung auch nicht schöner; von daher hab ich eh mit einem weiteren - ich vermute: letzten - Baisse-Bein gerechnet ! Howdy JR |
| mib - Mittwoch, 23. Januar 2002 - 15:35 |
| SEMI Zahlen waren gestern in briefing.com - ich dachte, ihr haettet die gesehen, sonst haette ich geposted. Wert ist deutlich <1 aber hoeher als im letzten Monat/Quartal und etwas hoeher als erwartet. Das wichtige ist aber: die absoluten Zahlen der Auftragseingaenge steigen wieder! mib |
| j_r_ewing - Mittwoch, 23. Januar 2002 - 16:59 |
| Ahhhhh ! :-))))) |
| j_r_ewing - Mittwoch, 23. Januar 2002 - 17:01 |
| Wie hatte ich das vergessen können : :-)) Dec. (NAPM) Non-manufacturing Index Dick Rippe, Managing Director 01-04-2002 11:51 ET The National Association of Purchasing Management, or as it is now known, The Institute for Supply Management, Non-manufacturing Index rose in December to 54.2 [ !! ] from 51.3 [ ! ] in November. In this index 50 is neutral, so after it had plunged deeply into negative territory in October, it has come back in each of the last two months [ ! ] to be positive, indicating that non-manufacturing activity in the private economy is advancing. This is the highest reading since December 2000 [ !! ] , and goes along with this institute's Manufacturing Index which came out on Wednesday at 48.2. While still under 50, this is an improvement over the previous 44.5. This is one more sign, in a whole string of recent signs, of things turning somewhat better in the economy. Along with the employment report this morning (which showed fewer job losses), these are important indications that the economy is reaching a bottom and perhaps starting to do better already. Within the Index, new orders came in at 52.6 [ ! ] , compared with 48.3 last month. The backlog of orders is still declining at 46.5, but not as much as before. Export orders had a good increase: 55, up from 48.5. Inventories continued to decline, which is good news. The Index for inventories in non-manufacturing went to 48.5, lower than the 49.5 from the prior month. There are still a lot of imports [Handeslbilanz !] coming in; they rose to 57.9 from 52.4. This says that domestic activity is pulling in imports. Prices remain very tame, with input prices at 38.5, the same as the prior month. Employment is still falling, with a reading of 45.1 that doesn't mesh with what we heard this morning from the employment numbers. But they are falling on this index. The supplier delivery index shows lead times lengthening, 53.5 up from 52.5. Overall, this Non-Manufacturing Sectors Index shows a positive reading for the private non-manufacturing part of the economy, and a positive sign for the overall economy. (die [] sind von mir) Howdy JR |
| j_r_ewing - Mittwoch, 23. Januar 2002 - 17:27 |
| (..ich erlaube mir mal, Mib - dann ist es weniger einsam auf der Bullenwiese ! : ) mib - Mittwoch, 23. Januar 2002 - 15:33 es gibt tatsaechlich einige Anzeichen.... und wenn ich was gelernt habe von 2000 (oder glauber, was gelernt zu haben), dann "never ignore the economic macroenvironment". Es ging in 2000 runter und keiner wollte es wahr haben - und Mitt/Ende 2002 / Anfang 2003 geht's wieder rauf, aber weil die aktuellen ertrags- und Umsatzahlen so schlecht sind, wills wieder keiner sehen. Ich denke, dass wir nach der jetzt laufenden Korrektur der Kurse erstmal wieder Kaufkurse sehen und man sollte anfangen Positionen aufzubauen. abba watt weiss isch schon! - Mib |
| j_r_ewing - Freitag, 25. Januar 2002 - 08:15 |
| Ach: noch einer...! :-))) 10:00AM Greenspan sunny on the economy by Rex Nutting In mostly upbeat testimony, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Thursday that the U.S. economy is beginning to recover. Greenspan made the comments less than a week before the Federal Open Market Committee meets in a two-day meeting to discuss the economic outlook and the prospects for further rate cuts. Greenspan's sunny comments will further erode expectations that the Fed will cut rates for a 12th time next week. Portions of Greenspan's testimony on Thursday were identical to a speech Greenspan gave in San Francisco two weeks ago. But the San Francisco speech was more even-handed, referring to "significant risks" that the recovery was not yet firmly in hand. On Thursday, Greenspan left out the "significant risks" phrasing. Greenspan told the Senate Budget Committee that the nation's "fiscal bonanza" has been partially reversed by "recent developments," including the tax cuts, the slower economy and the bear market that dried up capital gains taxes. 11:14AM Greenspan: Fiscal stimulus not critical by Rex Nutting Extra fiscal stimulus isn't critical to the economic recovery, but it might be helpful, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday. Greenspan said short-term fiscal stimulus packages can have long-term negative consequences because they alter capital spending decisions. The U.S. economy is recovering "fortunately" without help from Congress, but extra stimulus could be "useful" later in the spring or summer. Greenspan noted that the recovery could be damped by weak consumer and business spending, which might be helped by a temporary stimulus. Last fall, Greenspan said $100 billion might be useful, but Congress has not been able to agree on a stimulus package. 1:19PM Fed rate cut hopes dissipate by Rex Nutting Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenpsan put any lingering hopes of a 12th rate cut to rest in testimony to the Senate on Thursday. In his mostly upbeat remarks, Greenspan told the senators that the economy is near a turning point, with a recovery likely to take hold soon. However, Greenspan also told the lawmakers that the markets have been anticipating a stronger recovery than he is. Despite his warning that the recovery is likely to be tepid, federal funds futures markets are now pricing in a 40 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates twice by the end of June. The odds of a rate cut next week fell to 10 percent from about 20 percent before the speech. In addition, economists at Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch joined the camp of those expecting no change next week. |
| prof_b - Dienstag, 29. Januar 2002 - 23:58 |
| Ich will euch ja nicht die (hoffentlich gute) Stimmung verderben, aber der Dow macht so langsam die Mücke. Die Frage ist, wann unser DAX nachzieht? Prof |
| chinaman - Montag, 4. Februar 2002 - 14:36 |
| Chartkommentar – Fächerformation signalisiert abnehmende Schwungkraft Die Risiken für amerikanische Standardaktien werden größer HANS-DIETER SCHULZ HANDELSBLATT, 4.2.2002 DARMSTADT. Die Entscheidung für den weiteren Verlauf des Dow Jones steht bevor. Noch bewegt sich der Index innerhalb des Abwärtstrends. Die wichtige 200-Tage-Linie kann bislang nicht nach oben durchbrochen werden. Die Hochpunkte Anfang Dezember und Anfang Januar lassen die Ausbildung einer oberen Kopf-Schulter-Formation vermuten, was sinkende Kurse zur Folge hätte. Die Ausbildung einer Fächerformation zeigt, dass die Dynamik des Aufschwungs schwächer wird. Der unwahrscheinlichere Fall ist, dass der Dow-Jones-Index nach der kräftigen Aufwärtsbewegung nur konsolidiert, ehe es weiter aufwärts geht. Seit dem historischen Hochpunkt im Januar 2000 war der Dow-Jones-Index bis zum Tiefpunkt am 21. September 2001 um 35 % gefallen. Der Markt war extrem überverkauft, was eine hektische Aufwärtsbewegung zur Folge hatte. Das Tief vom März 2000 bei rund 9 800 Punkten ist als Unterstützungs- und Widerstandslinie zu werten. Diese Marke ist seit November mehrfach nach unten durchbrochen worden. Bei 9 700 Punkten hat sich durch die Tiefpunkte seit November eine weitere Unterstützungslinie gebildet. Diese Marke war in den vergangenen Tagen zeitweise unterschritten worden – allerdings nicht signifikant. Die bisherigen Durchbrüche nach unten könnten sich als Bärenfallen erweisen. Allerdings zeigt die Ausbildung einer Fächerformation in den vergangenen Monaten, dass die Trendlinien immer flacher werden, die Kraft des Aufschwungs also nachlässt. Ein weiterer Anstieg des Dow-Jones-Index ist erst möglich, wenn der massive Widerstand bei 10 300 Punkten überschritten wird. In dem Fall würde sich allerdings die Seitwärtsbewegung als Konsolidierung erweisen, und es stünde ein stärkerer Anstieg bevor, der zumindest bis an die abwärts gerichtete Trendlinie führt. Diese verläuft derzeit bei etwas über 11 000 Punkten. Ähnlich widersprüchlich wie die charttechnische Situation ist auch die fundamentale: Auf der einen Seite stehen hohe Liquidität und stark gesunkene Zinsen, auf der anderen Seite die hohe Bewertung vieler Aktien und nur wenige Anzeichen für eine anspringende Konjunktur. Noch immer beträgt die Kapazitätsauslastung weniger als 75 %. Die Einkaufsmanager-Indizes sind zwar wieder etwas gestiegen, liegen aber immer noch unter 50 Zähler. Sie signalisieren damit noch kein eindeutiges Anspringen der Konjunktur. Die Verschuldung der Bürger, der Unternehmen und der Bundesstaaten ist extrem hoch, das Budgetdefizit steigt. Es ist fraglich, woher ein starker Anstieg der Konjunktur kommen soll, denn die private Nachfrage droht wegen der hohen Verschuldung niedrig zu bleiben. Dr. Hans-Dieter Schulz ist Experte für technische Analyse und Mitherausgeber der Hoppenstedt-Charts. HANDELSBLATT, Montag, 04. Februar 2002, 06:01 Uhr |
| j_r_ewing - Dienstag, 5. Februar 2002 - 06:39 |
| So. Schätze, das wars. (Politische Ereignisse ausgenommen.) Empfehle, im nächsten (m.E. letzten) Bein der Baisse bottom-fishing. Gruß JR (Selbst wenn es noch mal nach unter Null korrigiert wird (my guess: -0,5%): ein relativ gutes Ergebnis:) GDP Stronger Than Expected Dick Rippe, Managing Director 01-30-2002 10:55 ET Fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product came in at a gain of 0.2% [!!], our estimate was negative 0.5% to negative 1.0%, consensus was for negative 1.0%. This followed negative 1.3% in the third quarter. And again, this fourth quarter number can still be revised into negative territory. For the whole year of 2001, GDP was up 1.1%. That is the worst performance in nearly a decade. The personal Consumption Price index was up 0.8%, which is a very tame number and indicates no inflation problem. Within the components the real story here is that gains in consumption were a little better than expected. Consumption was up at a 5.4% annual rate (versus 1.0% in the third quarter). It is the durable goods category that was up at a 38.4% rate because of the motor vehicle sales that pulled it ahead. There were declines in business investments, down 12.8%, housing down at a 6.4% rate, but government spending had a 9.2% rise and in that category both the federal, state and local gained. The surprise is that the state and local did so well. So, when you add up all of the demand categories, final sales to domestic purchasers rose 3.2%, which is a solid gain and way better than the drop of 0.3% in the third quarter. The trade balance did deteriorate, it was down about $21.0 billion, so the deficit is $432.6 billion, and that means that final sales (domestic demand plus net exports) were up but not as much as domestic final sales. The domestic side was up 3.2%, and total final sales were up 2.5%, a lot better than the drop of 0.5% in the third quarter. The inventories are the final piece of this-- inventories dropped $120.6 billion, nearly double the $61.9 billion drop in the third quarter-- it's the largest fall of inventories on record [!!!!!]. This suggests we have done a lot to clear the decks for the economy going forward. (...) Since almost all [!!] of the recent data have been better, it is very hard to imagine that the Fed would cut rates in this sort of environment. (...) ------------------------- (Soweit die jüngere Vergangenheit. Zur Gegenwart und zur näheren Zukunft:) pers?nlichen Einkommen im Dezember mit einem Plus von 0,4 Prozent ---------- PM Index--Positive Sign for the Industrial Sector Construction Spending Dick Rippe, Managing Director 02-01-2002 11:25 ET The National Purchasing Managers Index for January came in at 49.9 [!!], which is just within a hair's breadth of 50, which is a neutral reading. That is not far from expectations. Our estimate was 49.0-50.0, the consensus was 49.4. This follows a 48.2 reading in December. So we have moved back in manufacturing on this measure to something very close to neutral and although it is not a big surprise after yesterday's Chicago Purchasing Managers number you might have guessed the figure would have been a little lower than that. So it is a positive sign for the industrial sector. In the components you have production at 52.0 [!!!] (versus 50.6 in December), so these readings in some of the components are above the 50.0 neutral level. Another one that is positive is orders. They came in at 55.3 up from 54.9 [!!!!!]. So we are getting increasing orders, even export orders turned slightly positive at 50.8, up from 48.0 in the prior month. The supplier delivery component, which is an indication of lead times, at 51.7, says lead times are lengthening a bit, which is again a sign of more activity. Some other measures are still negative, inventories are 40.5 suggesting inventories are still being liquidated, although at a slower rate. Employment is also down, 42.6, that would be consistent with the manufacturing job loss that we saw this morning in the employment numbers. The price index, 43.9, is still showing price declines, although not as much as in the prior month when they were 33.2. The other report out is Construction Spending for December, that showed a 0.2% rise, our estimate was negative 0.2% to negative 0.5%. The November figure is revised downward to a 0.3%, a rise from the original 0.8%. We expected after the November gain you would get a little cut back. Now they show November not as much of a gain and December is up. So it kind of leaves you in the same place. This is the third monthly gain in a row for construction. For all of 2001, construction was up 5.8%. This sector has performed very well in a weak economy, it has been an important source of support for the economy in the face of downward pressure in other places. ( [ ] von mir.) |
| j_r_ewing - Mittwoch, 6. Februar 2002 - 18:50 |
| [Noch ein Mosaikstein:] Durable & Nondurable Goods Dick Rippe, Managing Director 02-05-2002 11:28 ET Durable goods orders were up 1.7% [ ! ] and nondurable goods were up 0.6% [ ! ] in December. They had both been up in November [!!] -- durable goods up 6.1% and nondurable by 2.1%. Shipments were up 0.6% [ ! ]. Inventories were down again, down 0.6% [ ! ] . They had been down 1.3% in November [wenn ich mich da jetzt nicht vertue, dann ist dies sogar schon der 11. Monat in Folge !!!]. Order backlog is down again 0.8% [nicht so gut]. So December factory orders came in about as expected and the factory segment of the economy is hopefully bottoming out a little bit. Factory orders were up 1.2% [ ! ] after a decline of 3.3% in November. Business activity for the non-manufacturing sector came in just below the neutral 50.0%, it came in at 49.6% [neutral, immerhin]. December was revised downward to 50.1% [dito]. Every year they do seasonal adjustments at this time and that is why we got the revision for December down from 54.2% [streut ja tierisch - nie einen Monat alleine nehmen!]. Some of the components were very close. New orders came in at 49.4% [knapp neutral] versus 51.5% in December. The backlog of orders was in at 45.5% [dies läßt noch zu wünschen] versus 46.6%. The important new export orders came in positively at 56.5% versus 55.0% [sehr schön! und es sind nicht die Dumping-Autos!]. The price index came in at 49.0% versus 38.5%. So we are seeing a little bit [??] of rise in prices, but prices are still contracting as they are below the neutral level at 49.0% [also kaum noch!, was auf stabilisierte Nachfrage deutet]. So this report on the non-manufacturing sector is a little bit of a surprise, part of it was due to seasonal adjustments. Both reports came in close to expectations, but the non-manufacturing was a little bit of a disappointment. [der Auftragsbestand läßt noch zu wünschen; sonst ganz passabel] |
| j_r_ewing - Mittwoch, 6. Februar 2002 - 18:54 |
| 11:44AM Regulators to unveil new analyst rules by Matt Andrejczak The National Association of Securities Dealers and the New York Stock Exchange are scheduled to unveil new analyst independence rules designed to restore public confidence in Wall Street research. Representatives from NASD and NYSE will be joined by SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt and lawmakers at at a press conference Thursday on Capitol Hill. |
| prof_b - Donnerstag, 7. Februar 2002 - 10:45 |
| Hoffentlich kriegen wir nicht wieder so ein Jahr wie 2001, zumindest die beiden Anfänge sind relativ ähnlich! Dieses Jahr sind wir jedenfalls schlauer, hoffe ich ... Prof |
| j_r_ewing - Donnerstag, 7. Februar 2002 - 13:41 |
| Erste Januar-Woche: klar nach oben; Januar: leicht schwächer - wie waren eigentlich die anderen Kaffeesätze (dieses Fußball-Endspiel; Rocklänge der Frauen)? :-) JR |
| prof_b - Donnerstag, 7. Februar 2002 - 14:46 |
| Dieses Superbowl haben die Bären gewonnen ... |
| j_r_ewing - Donnerstag, 7. Februar 2002 - 15:14 |
| Ogottogott ! |
| j_r_ewing - Donnerstag, 7. Februar 2002 - 15:49 |
| U.S. Jobless Claims Dick Rippe, Managing Director 02-07-2002 09:27 ET Initial Claims dropped by 15,000 in the latest week. The Department of Labor reported this morning that initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased by 15,000 to 376,000 in the week ended February 2; the prior week was revised upward to 391,000 from the original 390,000. The four-week average fell by 5,750 to 380,500 [ ! ] (versus 386,000 in the prior week). Initial claims data tend to be very volatile, but the four-week average, the more reliable measure, is now at the lowest level since the week ended August 18, 2001 [ !!! ]. The trend in claims has been downward over the last few months and the level of claims is now in a zone that is roughly consistent with jobs stability. [ !!! ](...) |
| j_r_ewing - Donnerstag, 7. Februar 2002 - 16:19 |
| Productivity Gains Dick Rippe, Managing Director 02-06-2002 10:16 ET The Table of Non-Farm Productivity Data from the Labor Dept. showed that Productivity in the fourth quarter increased 3.5% [ !!! ] . [Dies ist um so höher zu bewerten, als es bei zurückgehendem Umsatz natürlich zunächst einmal erst zu einer ABSENKUNG der Produktivität kommt, da man sich nicht aller Kosten in Windeseile entledigen kann (auch wenn das bei Entlassungen drüben ratzfatz geht: nicht alle Kostenfaktoren gehen so schnell zu reduzieren !) Man sieht, daß hier allerhand an der Margenverbesserung getan worden ist. - Entsprechend viel besser steht das Unternehmen dann da, wenn der Umsatz im Aufschwung wieder zurückkommt !!] Our estimate was 3.0%-3.5%, consensus was 2.9%. The previous quarter came in at 1.1%, revised down from 1.5%. Other related measures in this report, Compensation Per Hour came in at 2.3% (versus 3.7% in the third quarter). Combining the 3.5% Productivity with the 2.3% Compensation derives a Unit Labor Cost decline of 1.1% [! s.o.] (versus a 2.6% increase). Within the Manufacturing sector Productivity was also up 3.5%, a little bit faster than the 2.6% in the previous quarter. Also released were final 2001 numbers, for the full year Productivity increased 1.8%, Unit Labor Costs were up 3.9%, and the Hourly Compensation rose 8.5%. . Overall for the economy, these are unusually strong Productivity gains given a US recession. [ !! ] Productivity does tend to be very cyclical and the data that we have seen so far have been quite promising. Nett, das - vorausgesetzt, man glaubt nicht, daß das alles nur erstunken und erlogen ist ! ;-) Howdy JR |