08/01/11 – theGrio and CNBC Market Update
VIDEO - Besides monitoring the latest in U.S. debt ceiling talks, investors had quite a bit of data to digest last week...
Besides monitoring the latest in U.S. debt ceiling talks, investors had quite a bit of data to digest last week. The economy grew by much slower than expected at 1.3 percent during the second quarter, new home sales fell unexpectedly by 1 percent in June, but prices were up. Consumer confidence rose slightly in July as concerns over jobs and finances eased a bit. In the week ahead investors expect reports on jobs, manufacturing and consumer credit.
Where are the jobs? We’ll find out with the July employment report. In June the unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.2 percent — as 18,000 jobs were added. African American unemployment remained at 16.2 percent, while black teen unemployment declined to nearly 40 percent, the second month of improvement, but remains by far the highest of any group. We’ll get a read on manufacturing with the July report from the institute for supply management. In June production activity improved to a 55.3 reading, driven by an increase in new orders.. A reading over 50 signals expansion.
We’ll gain insight on consumer finances with the June consumer credit report—which tracks auto, credit card and student loans. In may consumer credit rose by 5 billion dollars— marking 8 consecutive months of increases. Driven by an increase in credit card use, Americans carry more than 2.4 trillion dollars of debt.
