"Worst since Great Recession"

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 01/15/2016 - 10:30am

That's what a lot of the economic headlines say today.

Retail Sales: worst since 2009

Corporate earnings downgrades: worst in seven years

And then there is the stock market. It is still way, way up from 2009, but it's having a very bad 2016 so far.
China's stock market is down 20% just since December.
Meanwhile, the U.S. stock market is testing important support levels.

Stocks fell around the world, with U.S. equities headed for the lowest since August, and bonds jumped as oil’s plunge past $30 sent markets reeling. Treasuries extended gains as U.S. data did little to calm nerves frayed by concern that global growth is slowing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 300 points, European stocks fell to the precipice of a bear market and the Shanghai Composite Index wiped out gains from an unprecedented state-rescue campaign. Oil plunged past $30 a barrel as Iran prepares to export into a global supply glut. A measure of default risk for junk-rated U.S. companies surged to the highest three years. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes dipped under 2 percent, while the dollar extended a rally. Gold surged with the yen on haven demand.
“Markets have to go through several stages and right now they’re just holding their head and crying,” Krishna Memani, chief investment officer at Oppenheimer Funds Inc. in New York, said by phone.

[Update: DOW now down over 500 points and still sinking; technical support levels are now broken]

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Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 01/15/2016 - 11:33am

More charts

china bear.jpg

Submitted by NCTim on Fri, 01/15/2016 - 11:50am

Consumption is up

Prices are steady to down a bit.

—

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 01/15/2016 - 9:06pm

Puerto Rico "in midst of economic collapse"

Lew says

(AFP) - Puerto Rico's economy is collapsing, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Friday as he announced a visit to the US territory two weeks after its debt default.
"Although there are many ways this crisis could escalate further, it is clear that Puerto Rico is already in the midst of an economic collapse," Lew said in the letter, addressed to Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan.
He noted that Puerto Rico's government is now shifting funds away from one creditor to pay another, and has stopped payments altogether on some of its bonds.
After it missed $37 million in payments early this month, and pulled another $163 million from escrow for some bonds to service government debt, creditors have filed suit, complicating the situation.

Meanwhile, Lew said, the island's government is cutting back spending and raiding pension and other assets to keep going, exacerbating both its financial and economic problems.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Sun, 01/17/2016 - 1:31pm

One more headline

Corporate bonds

The outlook for global corporate credit is anything but rosy for 2016, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. Last year ended with a negative bias of 11%, the worst since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and S&P said the data suggests “that downgrades may significantly outnumber upgrades during 2016. Investment grade (BBB- or better) ratings remained on about 40% of corporate debt, a level that has been maintained since early 2013.