July 2015

Case-Shiller Indices Show Home Prices Clearly Outpace Inflation

The May 2015 S&P Case Shiller home price index shows a seasonally adjusted 4.9% price increase from a year ago for the 20 metropolitan housing markets and a 4.7% yearly price increase in the top 10 housing markets.  The year over year change is pretty much the same as April using the seasonally adjusted data.

Almost 4000 fewer companies listed now than in 1998.

According to Money.CNN there are almost four thousand fewer companies listed in the stock market now than in 1998. Stocks doing good. Fewer companies but activity high. Stock prices relatively stable with poor earnings. Almost no human trading firms, robots are trading. This gives the appearance that something is going on that doesn't benefit companies or stock holders but favors trading. High trading with no appreciable increase in value looks like an ulterior motive or goal is driving the market. Can higher trading with no corresponding value increase mean anything other than a bubble?

Make a profit for the stockholder. Jobs?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that agenda. Gratification for performance gets the job done. Jobs can very easily also come from profits. Reward jobs producing investing. Net gain in jobs is very unlikely because there is no reward for creating jobs. There is a reward for profits. Profit through people would create jobs. Laws keep getting changed to make profitting without working easier. Money has to work in order for jobs to be created. The positive side of profits through people is building of value and equity.

Initial Unemployment Claims at Levels Not Seen Since 1973

The DOL reported people filing for initial unemployment insurance benefits in the week ending on July 18th, 2015 was 255,000, a 26,000 decrease from the previous week of 281,000.  The DOL proclaims this is the largest drop since November 24th, 1973, when initial claims was 233,000.  The DOL also states this is no statistical anomaly.  Graphed below is initial claims.

 

Existing Home Sales Up 3.2% As Prices Soar To Record Highs

NAR's existing home sales really shot up in June with a 3.2% sales increase to 5.49 million annualized existing home sales.  This is an eight and a half year high.  In February 2007 existing home sales were 5.79 million.  This makes sales 9.6% higher than June of last year.  Existing home sales have been above their year previous amounts for six months now.

Creating jobs vs taking somebody's job.

Almost everything I read reduces to taking somebody else's job. Bringing back jobs from overseas and more training takes somebody else's job. And it is excepted with enthusiasm because it is the way we have been trained all our lives. New jobs are the function of more money. Forget about all the benefits to existing companies having everybody on their team cheering for better trained workers and taking back over seas jobs. The world needs more jobs and that has to come from more money. The emphasis should be on making money work. Nobody contradicts more workers more tax revenue.

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