Morning Economic News - November 21, 2008

Early indications in overnight trading [10:30 PM Eastern] are that there may be some relief on Wall Street Friday after two bad down days, with US stock market futures up a bit under 1%. Asian stock indexes are down 2 to 3% and oil has fallen another 1.5% since the New York close. The dollar is trading up against the yen, down against the euro, pound and Canadian dollar.

Update: 3 AM Eastern
US stock market futures are up more than 3% and Asian stocks are trading up. The Nikkei is up 2.7%, the Hang Seng is up 3.54% and the S&P/ASX 200 is up 1.90%. NYMEX crude futures are up 1.5%, putting the price back just over $50/barrel and gasoline futures back above $1. The dollar is now down 1.5% against the Canadian dollar, up 1.4% against the yen and down against the euro and the pound.

Here's the latest economic news from Thursday:

Jobless Claims - November 20, 2008

• Initial Claims: 542,000


• Change from Last Week: Up 27,000


• 4-Week Moving Average: 506,500

Leading Index (US) - October 2008

• Leading Index: Down 0.8%


• Coincident Index: Up 0.2%


• Lagging Index: Up 0.1%

Money Supply (M1 and M2) - November 20, 2008

• M1 Seasonally Adjusted Prior Month: $1473.1 billion


• M1 4-Week Average: $1496.3 billion


• M1 Annual Change (Unadjusted): $103.6 billion

Foreclosure freezes announced amid mixed housing news

The housing news this week has been a mixed bag, with good news on
interest rates and a decline in new housing starts offset by a drop in
new mortgage applications and with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae following
the lead of Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America in
announcing a foreclosure freeze.

Avoiding Foreclosure

There are lots of scams out there targeting homeowners in trouble
with their mortgages. While a legitimate sale is certainly the simplest
way to avoid foreclosure, there are, unfortunately, many con men
willing to take advantage of desperation and leave the struggling
homeowner worse off than they were before.

Fannie, Freddie Halt Foreclosures

Fannie and Freddie suspend foreclosure sales and evictions
on certain properties until January as it prepares for its
loan-modification program.

China Worries About Rising Job Losses

Chinese officials said unemployment has worsened and conditions will deteriorate until the second quarter of 2009.

New England Faces Big Downturn

New England is headed for a "significant recession" that
will strip the region of 250,000 jobs, or about 3.6 % of its
employment, economists said.

U.S. Jobless Claims Approach Highest Level Since 1982 as Recession Deepens The number of Americans filing for
unemployment benefits approached a 26-year high, and a gauge of
the economy's future performance dropped, sending yields on
benchmark Treasuries to record lows.

Singapore Lowers 2008 Growth Forecast; Says Economy May Contract Next Year Singapore lowered its growth
forecast for a fourth time this year and said the economy may
contract in 2009, prompting policy makers to implement more
measures to avoid a prolonged slowdown.

Leading Indicators in U.S. Decline More Than Forecast as Recession Deepens The index of leading U.S. economic
indicators fell in October for the third time in four months as
stocks and consumer confidence plunged, signaling a deepening
recession.

Shirakawa May Signal Bank of Japan's Reluctance to Revive Zero-Rate Policy Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki
Shirakawa will probably signal today that he's reluctant to
return interest rates to zero because the policy may discourage
lending rather than promote it.

Japan Economy Headed for Longest Slump Since Banking Crisis, Analysts Say Japan's economy will probably shrink
this year and next in the first back-to-back contractions since
the onset of the banking crisis a decade ago, economists say.

Swiss Central Bank Unexpectedly Lowers Benchmark Rate by 100 Basis Points Switzerland's central bank lowered
its benchmark interest rate by an unprecedented percentage point
after the economic growth outlook worsened.

Federal Reserve's Commercial-Paper Buying Rises; Cash Loans to Banks Drop The Federal Reserve expanded
commercial paper purchases from U.S. corporations, increasing
holdings by $13.5 billion, or 5.2 percent, while cash borrowing
by banks and Wall Street bond dealers declined.

South Korea Economy May Shrink for First Time Since 1998 Crisis, UBS Says UBS AG forecast South Korea's
economy will shrink 3 percent in 2009, which would be the first
contraction since the country's financial crisis in 1998.

EU Officials Craft Coordinated Economic-Stimulus Plan to Combat Recession The European Union is crafting a
coordinated economic-stimulus package to spur its 27-nation
economy based on contributions by each EU government.

No relief seen in global economic crisis

* Deflation feared

M-2 money supply up $29.6 bln Nov 10 week 

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. M-2 money supply rose by
$29.6 billion in the November 10 week to $7,907.1 billion, the
Federal Reserve said on Thursday