CUNA News Now

CUNA News Now - Market Filed on 2009-11-05, published the first business day after.

Market News

MADISON, Wis. (11/6/09)

Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to 512,000 for the week ended Oct. 31--the lowest level since Jan. 3. In the meantime, continuing claims decreased by 68,000 to 5.749 million for the week ending Oct. 24. Because businesses are slowly cutting back on layoffs, the latest data indicate that the labor market is gradually improving, analysts said. Fewer jobless claims were filed last week than economists had expected, the Labor Department said Thursday in its weekly report. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a decrease of only 5,000 claims. Because initial claims still remain relatively high, the implication is that the job market has a long road to recovery, analysts said. Also, the Monster Employment index gained one point between September and October to finish at 120--a mark that is consistent with a lack of improvement in job availability, according to Monster Worldwide Inc. The index is down 20% from the same period last year (Moody's Economy.comand The Wall Street Journal Nov. 5) ...
U.S. chain store sales increased 2.1% in October from a year ago. However, this is not a sign of resurgence in consumer spending, but rather "easier year-ago comparisons," analysts said. The month's sales were helped by cooler weather and early holiday shopping, they added. Although consumer fundamentals are not as bad as earlier in the year, they remain restrictive for sustainable growth in spending, analysts said (Moody's Economy.com Nov. 5). Although teen-focused retail chains posted lower-than-expected results in October, a handful of retailers--including Stage Stores Inc., Stein Mart Inc. and Gap Inc.--reported better-than-expected results, analysts said. Usually, October is not a strong retail sales month, but rather a lull between back-to-school shopping and the holiday season in its final two months, analysts said (The Wall Street Journal Nov. 5) ...
In the third quarter, nonfarm business productivity increased at a 9.5% annualized rate--the biggest gain in six years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also, unit labor costs decreased 5.2%. The productivity gain was due to a sharp drop-off in hours worked, while output increased. The significant and larger-than-expected decline in labor costs will result in improved profitability. However, productivity gains will temper the need for hiring, analysts said. In the longer term, the better balance between labor and output is necessary for higher profitability and eventually increased hiring as aggregate demand turns around, analysts said (Moody's Economy.com Nov. 5) ...
More than half of U.S. consumers intend to pay cash for this year's holiday purchases, said two surveys released this week. Opinion Research Corp. conducted a telephone survey this month of 1,005 adults in which 85% of respondents said they plan to use cash for their holiday purchases this year. Also, 62% of respondents plan to use cash more often, the survey indicated, while 55% said they do not plan to use credit or charge cards for holiday purchases this year. Concurring with the Opinion Research poll was a separate online survey of 3,880 adults conducted in November by the nonprofit group National Foundation for Credit Counseling. It found that 68% of respondents intended to use cash for holiday purchases (Cardline via American Banker Nov. 5) ...