Economics Update

So, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has its April employment report out, and non-farm payroll employment continued to decline in down 539,000, though this is a slower decline, and beat expectations though the unemployment rate rose to 0.4% to8.9%, a 25 year high.

Under the less restrictive, and to my mind more accurate U6, unemployment rose to 15.8%.

The picture (click for full size) shows the employment fall from peak compared with other recessions.

Meanwhile, wholesale inventories fell by 1.76%, more than the forecast of 1%, as retailers and manufacturers tried to adjust for reduced demand.

We also have some bad news in the financial industry, with Royal Bank of Scotland posting a loss after writing down risky assets, Commerzbank, Germany's 2nd largest bank, reporting an €861 million loss, and our old friend AIG posted a loss of $4.5 billion. (AIG is the gift that keeps on giving.)

Meanwhile, all the optimism over the jobs report (Whee! !he 2nd derivative is positive!)has driven the dollar down and driven oil above $58.bbl.