U.S. service sector contracts in January

itsmeeeeeee · 02-05-2008, 06:36 AM

Title
U.S. service sector contracts in January

Link
U.S. service sector contracts in January - Yahoo! News
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Excerpt

U.S. service sector contracts in January

By VINNEE TONG, AP Business Writer 14 minutes ago

NEW YORK - The nation's service sector contracted in January for the first time in almost five years, a trade group of purchasing executives said Tuesday.

The Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of service sector business activity declined to 44.6 in January from a revised reading of 54.4 in December. Economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR had expected a slight slowdown but had still had expected growth, with a median estimate for the index of 53.

It was the first time the service sector reading has contracted since March 2003.

The ISM's manufacturing index helped intensify fears of a recession last month when it fell below 50 for December, to 48.4, before rebounding on Friday to 50.7 for January.

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Comment:

whoops!!!!! there goes another (huge) indicator!!!!

if they hadn't "redefined" what a recession is, and were still using previously accepted indicators, they would have shown some time ago that we are already in a recession, and the new employment figures, etc, would only show that the recession is going much much deeper than a regular cyclical correction...

Heretic · 02-05-2008, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsmeeeeeee

whoops!!!!! there goes another (huge) indicator!!!!

if they hadn't "redefined" what a recession is, and were still using previously accepted indicators, they would have shown some time ago that we are already in a recession, and the new employment figures, etc, would only show that the recession is going much much deeper than a regular cyclical correction...

Hey, those burger flipping obs are still an option.

itsmeeeeeee · 02-05-2008, 06:43 AM

US STOCKS-Futures hit by economic fears, Goldman drops - Yahoo! Singapore News

Financial shares were set to fall at the start of U.S. stock trading after a brokerage downgrade of Goldman Sachs.

Shares of the investment bank fell 1.5 percent to $197.80 before the bell.

Oppenheimer & Co analyst Meredith Whitney downgraded Goldman to "perform" from "outperform" based on valuation and said Goldman would "suffer from its own success" in 2008 as a result of tougher comparisons.

"There's a lot of air pockets," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.

"There's still plenty of good reasons to get rid of some of these stocks. Recently, you've been rallying off future expectations that really don't have the current numbers to support the hopes that people have."

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this is huge, too!!!! goldman sachs was actually one of the better insulated companies!

itsmeeeeeee · 02-05-2008, 08:05 AM

another article on the service sector drop:

Services index plummets, points to recession

By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa 1 hour, 16 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. services sector retrenched sharply in January to levels not seen since the 2001 recession, renewing fears about an economic slump, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

The Institute for Supply Management's index of non-manufacturing plummeted to 41.9 from 54.4 in December, its largest monthly decline on record and a far greater drop than Wall Street expected. A Reuters poll of economists had produced a median expectation of a slip to 53.0

"The recession has indeed arrived," said Jane Caron, chief economic strategist at Dwight Asset Management in Burlington, Vermont.

A reading below 50 indicates contraction, and bond prices jumped as the figures reinforced investors' conviction that the U.S. economy is already in recession. Stocks sold off.

The employment index fell to 43.9 from 51.8, corroborating last week's dire U.S. payrolls report, which showed the first net monthly contraction in the labor market in more than four years.

Weakness was evident across the board. A measure of new orders fell to 43.5 from 53.9.

"It's another recession marker on the radar screen," said Cary Leahy, economist at Decision Economics in New York.

itsmeeeeeee · 02-05-2008, 12:26 PM

the dow is positively TANKING today!

this sudden and extreme drop in the service sector really popped the bulls bubble!

another study released today that i just heard about found that 25% of businesses today have fewer employees than a month ago!

02-05-2008, 06:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
itsmeeeeeee punk nun Mahjong Connect Champion! Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: 53 miles west of venus Posts: 4,022 My Mood: Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 227 Thanked 770 Times in 463 Posts	U.S. service sector contracts in January Title U.S. service sector contracts in January Link U.S. service sector contracts in January - Yahoo! News ----------------------------------------------------- Excerpt U.S. service sector contracts in January By VINNEE TONG, AP Business Writer 14 minutes ago NEW YORK - The nation's service sector contracted in January for the first time in almost five years, a trade group of purchasing executives said Tuesday. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of service sector business activity declined to 44.6 in January from a revised reading of 54.4 in December. Economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR had expected a slight slowdown but had still had expected growth, with a median estimate for the index of 53. It was the first time the service sector reading has contracted since March 2003. The ISM's manufacturing index helped intensify fears of a recession last month when it fell below 50 for December, to 48.4, before rebounding on Friday to 50.7 for January. ------------------------------------------------------ Comment: whoops!!!!! there goes another (huge) indicator!!!! if they hadn't "redefined" what a recession is, and were still using previously accepted indicators, they would have shown some time ago that we are already in a recession, and the new employment figures, etc, would only show that the recession is going much much deeper than a regular cyclical correction... __________________ "NEVER underestimate the Democrat's ability to snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of victory."
	Top

02-05-2008, 06:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
itsmeeeeeee punk nun Mahjong Connect Champion! Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: 53 miles west of venus Posts: 4,022 My Mood: Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 227 Thanked 770 Times in 463 Posts	goldman sachs stock downgraded! US STOCKS-Futures hit by economic fears, Goldman drops - Yahoo! Singapore News Financial shares were set to fall at the start of U.S. stock trading after a brokerage downgrade of Goldman Sachs. Shares of the investment bank fell 1.5 percent to $197.80 before the bell. Oppenheimer & Co analyst Meredith Whitney downgraded Goldman to "perform" from "outperform" based on valuation and said Goldman would "suffer from its own success" in 2008 as a result of tougher comparisons. "There's a lot of air pockets," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey. "There's still plenty of good reasons to get rid of some of these stocks. Recently, you've been rallying off future expectations that really don't have the current numbers to support the hopes that people have." ----------------------------------- this is huge, too!!!! goldman sachs was actually one of the better insulated companies! __________________ "NEVER underestimate the Democrat's ability to snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of victory."
	Top

02-05-2008, 08:05 AM	#4 (permalink)
itsmeeeeeee punk nun Mahjong Connect Champion! Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: 53 miles west of venus Posts: 4,022 My Mood: Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 227 Thanked 770 Times in 463 Posts	another article on the service sector drop: Services index plummets, points to recession By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa 1 hour, 16 minutes ago NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. services sector retrenched sharply in January to levels not seen since the 2001 recession, renewing fears about an economic slump, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The Institute for Supply Management's index of non-manufacturing plummeted to 41.9 from 54.4 in December, its largest monthly decline on record and a far greater drop than Wall Street expected. A Reuters poll of economists had produced a median expectation of a slip to 53.0 "The recession has indeed arrived," said Jane Caron, chief economic strategist at Dwight Asset Management in Burlington, Vermont. A reading below 50 indicates contraction, and bond prices jumped as the figures reinforced investors' conviction that the U.S. economy is already in recession. Stocks sold off. The employment index fell to 43.9 from 51.8, corroborating last week's dire U.S. payrolls report, which showed the first net monthly contraction in the labor market in more than four years. Weakness was evident across the board. A measure of new orders fell to 43.5 from 53.9. "It's another recession marker on the radar screen," said Cary Leahy, economist at Decision Economics in New York. __________________ "NEVER underestimate the Democrat's ability to snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of victory."
	Top

02-05-2008, 12:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
itsmeeeeeee punk nun Mahjong Connect Champion! Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: 53 miles west of venus Posts: 4,022 My Mood: Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 227 Thanked 770 Times in 463 Posts	the dow is positively TANKING today! this sudden and extreme drop in the service sector really popped the bulls bubble! another study released today that i just heard about found that 25% of businesses today have fewer employees than a month ago! __________________ "NEVER underestimate the Democrat's ability to snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of victory."
	Top

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