Professional Documents
Culture Documents
• The WSJ says all that cash on company balance sheets is fueling a boomlet in mergers and
acquisitions. The $1.5 billion acquisition of New Alliance Bankshares by First Niagara Financial is
expected to spark a wave of bank mergers. – There could also be large returns of cash to shareholders in
the form of dividends or buybacks.
• In the just released July SLOOS report, the Fed cited it as “the first survey that has shown an
easing of standards on C&I loans to small firms since late 2006”. The 9.1% net percent of banks
reporting easing lending standards for small firms (i.e., annual sales under $50 million) was near the
9.6% average when there was a steady easing of such lending standards from Q4(03) through Q4(06).
Moreover, net easing of standards also was reported for prime residential mortgage loans, credit cards
and other consumer loans.
Credit Standards eased somewhat for Small Firms
• U.S. workers are more likely today than they were just before the start of the 2008 financial
crisis to be content with their earnings. Forty‐three percent now say they are "underpaid," down from
51% in August 2008. – Gallup
• Financial jobs help NYC unemployment rate to fall ‐ New York City’s seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate fell for the seventh‐straight month to 9.4 percent in July as financial companies
continued a growth trend – Bloomberg
• Record number tapping retirement accounts to help make it through the downturn. Among the
11 million workers whose 401(k) plans are run by Fidelity, 11 percent took out a loan from their plan
during the 12 months ended June 30, the company said, up from 9 percent at the same point a year
earlier. CNBC
• BP – US scientist retracts assurances over success of cleanup – NOAA’s Bill Lehr says ¾ of the oil
that spilled from the Macondo well is still in the Gulf after a research study detected a 22‐mile plume of
oil in the ocean depths. Guardian
• The Philly Fed index fell from 5.1 to ‐7.7 in August. It was expected to rise to 7.0. There was
weakness in orders, shipments, unfilled orders, delivery times, inventories, employees and the
workweek, all of which were negative. Of these, only one category, unfilled orders, was less negative
than in July. A negative read indicates more companies cutting back than adding. The Philly Fed index is
regional, and like all regional indices it is subject to more volatility than national indices. But the decline
in the index was the third in a row and appears to be confirmation of a trend rather than an anomaly.
The Philly Fed index leads the ISM manufacturing index. Today’s numbers are consistent with an ISM of
47.0. This is particularly disturbing because manufacturing has been one of the strongest sectors of the
economy all year. In the past, 47.0 is consistent with the turning point between expansion and recession
of the general economy. – FTN Financial
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook
• Social Security – WSJ budget panel (created by the WH to make proposals on solving the long‐
term budget deficit outlook) could make proposals on social security; some key players appear open to a
deal on retirement benefits (could raise retirement age, cut benefits for wealthier retirees, and also
raise the amount of income subject to social security taxes). WSJ
• Jobs, Factory Data Suggest Unfurling of Recession Flag ‐ The potential for a double‐dip recession
in the U.S. has increased following the latest reports on jobless claims and manufacturing. Deterioration
in these key indicators suggests a weakening labor market and a slowdown at factories — bad news for
the economy because job growth and manufacturing are two of the key ingredients to recovery. –
Bloomberg
• Philip Poole, the global head of macro and investment strategy at HSBC Global Asset
Management, said global stocks stand a “decent chance” of a rally in the fourth quarter as investors are
overly pessimistic about the outlook for economic growth.