Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Quick Notes for the Day - September 30

Final Q2 GDP Revised to Down 0.7% - The Commerce Department released the final second quarter GDP to a better than previously estimated -0.7% annualized versus the previous estimate of -1.0%. Economists had expected the final number to be -1.2%. The revision to second-quarter GDP was largely due to smaller declines in business investment and in exports and an upturn in government spending. On a year-on-year basis, growth is down a record 3.8% in the second quarter. A key measure of inflation was unrevised from the prior estimate of a 2.0% gain. On a year-on-year basis, core inflation rose 1.6%, the slowest pace since the fourth quarter of 2003. Corporate profits increased a revised 3.7% quarter-to-quarter, compared with a 5.7% rise previously estimated.

Private Sector Job Losses Lowest Since July 2008 - According to the ADP employment report, private-sector employers cut 254,000 jobs in September which is the slowest decline since July 2008. Goods-producing jobs fell by 151,000, including 71,000 in manufacturing. Services-producing jobs fell by 103,000.

Chicago PMI Unexpectedly Drops - According to the Chicago-NAPM, the Chicago area reported worse business conditions than in August as the PMI fell from 50.0 in August to 46.1 in September. Economists had been expecting an increase to 52.0. The new orders index declined to 46.3 from 52.5 in August.

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