Unemployment in Canada rose by one tenth of a percent to 8.1 percent in August and is the first time the unemployment rate has exceeded 8 percent since last May. According to Statistics Canada, 35,800 net new jobs were created in August, but this gain was offset by an increase in the number of people looking for work compared to July.
Source: The Canadian Press
For the first time in four months, China’s Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) recorded an increase rising to 51.7 in August from 51.2 in July. A number above 50 on the index indicates an increase in activity.
The latest result will ease concern that growth is waning in China which is seen as a vital component in leading the global economy to recovery.
Source: BBC News
Statistics Canada today said that Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by nearly a percentage point in the second quarter to 0.5 percent from 1.4 percent in the first quarter. Stats Canada pointed to a slow-down in consumer spending on goods and services, as well as cut-backs in business investment on residential structures as the primary reasons for the decline.
On an annualized basis, GDP grew by 2 percent in the second quarter, after expanding by 5.8 in the first quarter.
Source: The Canadian Press
A recent survey of industry insiders indicates that US crude oil inventories have increased and are approaching a one-month high. The slowing demand for energy adds further to the evidence that the US economy is retreating.
“These inventory numbers are getting too big to ignore, particularly because this is the case across the board,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. “At the very least they will present the market with a strong headwind.”
Source: Bloomberg
For the fifth straight month, unemployment in the eurozone remains mired at a record high 10 percent. Nearly 16 million people in the region are out of work but the pain is not spread evenly amongst the eurozone member countries.
Austria at 3.8 percent, and the Netherlands at 4.4 percent, recorded the lowest unemployment rates, while the German unemployment rate fell from 7.6% to 6.9%. Contrast this to Spain which has the highest rate of unemployment at 20.3%.
“We have the periphery countries, where the labour market is showing no improvement, and we have the core eurozone, where the labour market is actually pretty good and continues to show good news,” said Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING.
Source: BBC News
The US Commerce Department announced today that the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell to an annualized rate of 2.4 percent in the second quarter, compared to 3.7 percent in the first quarter. The result is the latest in mounting evidence suggesting that the US economy is slowing.
Expansion in China’s economy eased somewhat in the three months ending in June, falling to 10.3 percent from 11 percent in the first quarter, and nearing the official target of 8 percent. In a bid to contain inflation, the Chinese government has implemented rules to curb property speculation and tightened credit availability.
Source: BBC News
For the first time since February 2009, property values in China failed to advance, falling 0.1 percent in June. Chinese authorities recently introduced a series of measures to restrict property speculation in a bid to ease prices, but despite the slight decrease in June, property values are still 11.4 percent higher than a year ago.
Source: BBC News
The Shanghai composite index has closed at a 15-month low after data pointed to slowing growth and rising inflation.
The index dropped 19 points or 0.8% to 2,364 at the end of trading, its lowest close since April last year.
Shanghai was one of the first markets to recover after the global financial crisis, but peaked in August last year. It has since fallen 32%.
BBC News
Just days after Friday’s bombshell announcement that the SEC was investigating Goldman Sachs for its derivatives sales, the Wall Street investment firm announced it earned $3.46 billion in profit for the first quarter of 2010. This is nearly double last year’s Q1 profit of $1.8 billion.
Source: BBC News
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