Economics Update

Well, here's a big surprise, credit card delinquencies are up.

Truth be told, this is a lagging indicator, seeing as how closely it is tied to unemployment.

I would note that so called "marginally attached workers," which is workers who are still looking for work, but are no longer looking hard enough to be counted, has risen significantly, see pic.

Then again, remember the increase in construction spending I mentioned yesterday?

Private construction spending actually fell slightly in March so the increase I was stimulus spending.

Also, note that the Institute for Supply Management’s index of non- manufacturing businesses, basically a measure of activities in the services, fell in April, albeit at a slower pace than the past few months, so you can decide whether the glass is half full or half empty.

We have another retailer filing bankruptcy, this time Chapter 11 reorg,
Filene's Basement.

Here's one for nostalgia's sake, another monoliner insurer has been downgraded, Fitch cuts Assured Guaranty from AAA to AA, which means that their insurance, which basically leases out their credit rating, is done.

We have more evidence of credit loosening though, with the
LIBOR falling below 1% for the first time ever for overnight interbank loans.

I'm not sure if this is confidence in banks, or confidence in government bailouts though.

In currency, the dollar gained vs the Euro, largely on the expectation of an ECB rate cut, which in turn is based on the largest drop in European producer prices in over 20 years.

Oil is down on reports of large inventories.