| The KUIK Morning Market Report for Friday, August 16: | |||||||
| Markets are mixed. | |||||||
| Index | Direction | Change | Units | Last | Time | Change | |
| Dow | Up | 6 | points | 15,118 | 6:57 AM | ||
| S&P500 | Down | -0.12% | percent | 1,659 | (1.97) | ||
| Nasdaq Composite | Up | 0.06% | percent | 3,608 | 2.08 | ||
| 30 Year Treasury | Up | 3 | Basis Points | 3.82 | Annual Yield | ||
| Productivity of the U.S. non-farm business sector accelerated to a 0.9 annual rate in the second quarter following two quarters of declines, according to the the Labor Department. Economists expected a .7% increase. Unit labor costs are a sign of inflation. They rose at an annual rate of 1.4% in the second quarter. But even with the pickup in the second quarter, productivity was flat over the past four quarters. | |||||||
| The Commerce Department reported construction on new U.S. homes rose 5.9% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 896,000, as apartment starts rebounded after dropping in June. In July, Starts for buildings with at least five units rose 25.5%, while starts for single-family homes declined 2.2%. Overall starts in July were up 20.9% from the same period in2012, pointing to ongoing recovery, though there’s concern about the impact of rising mortgage rates on the housing market. | |||||||
| Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for AM 1360 KUIK. | |||||||
| http://www.marketwatch.com/story/second-quarter-productivity-picks-up-to-09-rate-2013-08-16 | |||||||
| http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-starts-rise-59-to-896000-rate-in-july-2013-08-16 | |||||||
| For today’s Morning Market Report click to listen-> | |||||||