Economic News Summary
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CPI Increases in January
March 15, 2009
The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) reversed its slide and posted a .28%, small increase, for the month of January 2009. CPI had declined sharply for three straight months dropping 3.25% from September 2008 to December 2008. The CPI had an unprecedented run of 216 straight monthly increases, or 18 years. Core includes food and energy.
Government Pay Raises Personal Income
March 15, 2009
The January change in personal income was boosted by several special factors. Pay raises for federal civilian and military personnel boosted government wage and salary disbursements and cost-of-living adjustments to several federal transfer payment programs boosted personal current transfer receipts. The January change was reduced by annual adjustments to personal contributions for government social insurance (a subtraction in calculating personal income); by the adjustment to private wages and salaries for bonus payments, and by lump-sum social security benefit payments that had boosted December personal income. Excluding these special factors, personal income increased $24.2 billion, or 0.2 percent, in January, after decreasing $31.4 billion, or 0.3 percent, in December .
Unemployment Rate Increases
March 15, 2009
The U.S. Unemployment Rate increased to 7.3% in January 2009 from its December 2008 rate of 6.5 a 12.3% increase over December. The last time the U.S Unemployment rate hit 7.3% was in March 1986 or 23 years ago. At that time unemployment was dropping for a high of 10.3% in February 1983.
Oil Prices Remain Steady
March 15, 2009
The price of West Texas Crude remains steady at $39 per barrel in February 2009 and is down 59% from one year ago, February 2008, after a roller-coaster year in 2008. The price reached a high of $133 per barrel in July 2008 and has dropped over 70% from the July high.
U.S. Economy Declines
March 15, 2009
The fourth quarter GDP dropped 1.6% from the third quarter. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office anticipates that the U.S. Economy will shrink by 2.2 percent in 2009 and grow 1.5% in 2010. This following a growth rate of 3.8% in 2007 and a smaller rate of 1.8% in 2008.
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Business/News & Views® / by David. W. Weatherholt
ISBN: 978-0-9823041-1-2 (electronic format)
Published in the United States of America through www.waconsult.com
Published in an electronic format by Weatherholt & Associates, LLC
First Trade Publishing: October 2008
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