Economics Update

The ADP private job report for April is out today, and it reports that 32,000, but since the private non-farm workforce needs to grow somewhere in the neighborhood of 130,000 a month, this means that unemployment is still increasing.

Additionally, the Institute for Supply Management's Non-Manufacturing Index was 55.5, for the 4^th straight month with any number above 50 indicating expansion, though the employment component of the index fell.

All in all though, better numbers are getting better.

In real estate, mortgage applications rose, with the refinance index falling, and the purchase index rising, so this is likely an artifact of the tax credit.

And its the same story as yesterday with regard to Greece and oil and currency, with people fleeing to safety driving the dollar up, and the rising dollar pushing oil down.