Economic News - August 14, 2008

Jobless Claims - August 14, 2008

• Initial Claims: 450,000


• Change from Last Week: Down 10,000


• 4-Week Moving Average: 440,500

Money Supply - August 14, 2008

M1 Annual Change (Unadjusted): $32.5 billion
M2 Annual Change (Unadjusted): $450.4 billion

Consumer Price Index (CPI) - July 2008

CPI-U: 219.964
Monthly Change: Up 0.5%
Year-to-year Change: Up 5.6%
Core CPI-U: Up 0.3% [Seasonally adjusted]

Freddie Mac reports rates little changed

Freddie Mac reported average interest rates on its conforming loans
little changed in the latest Primary Market Mortgage Survey. The 1-Year
conforming Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) is still almost 2% below the
rate reported yesterday for the Mortgage Banker’s Associations average
ARM.

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Fannie, Freddie Divide Economists

Chances are better than even that government money will be used to
prop up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, economists in the latest Wall
Street Journal survey said, and a sizeable minority said the
institutions should be nationalized.

Global Economic Picture Darkens

The world economy is slowing sharply after months of resilience in the
face of U.S. economic weakness, with Japan, the U.K. and the euro zone
all flirting with recession. It's unclear how emerging economies will
cope with a downturn in the developed world.

Bank of Japan May Keep Key Rate at 0.5% After Economy Shrank, Prices Rose

The Bank of Japan will probably keep
interest rates at the lowest level in the industrialized world
next week after the economy shrank and inflation accelerated to
a decade high.

Consumers Spend More on Gasoline Than U.S. Cars for First Time in 26 Years

Consumers spent more on gasoline than
vehicles and parts for the first time in 26 years in May and
June, as U.S. pump prices headed for a record.

New Zealand's Quarterly Spending Drops Most in 13 Years as Economy Falters

New Zealand's retail sales fell by
the most in at least 13 years in the second quarter, when
adjusted for inflation, as spiraling food and fuel prices left
consumers with less to spend on dining out and clothes.

Negative BOJ tankan seen after Reuters survey

U.S. dollar continues rebound [Video]

The U.S. dollar jumped to a nearly 6-month high, after reports of
contraction in European economies. Stocks also rallied on falling oil
prices.