| The KUIK Market Update for Thursday, July 31: | |||||||
| Markets are down. | |||||||
| Index | Direction | Change | Units | Time | Change | ||
| Dow | Down | (155) | points | 16,726 | 7:33 AM | ||
| S&P500 | Down | -1.0% | percent | 1,950 | (20.44) | ||
| Nasdaq Composite | Down | -1.3% | percent | 4,406 | (56.50) | ||
| 30 Year Treasury | Up | 3 | Basis Points | 3.34 | Annual Yield | ||
| The Labor Department reports that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 23,000 to 302,000 in the week ended July 26, giving back the decline from the prior week. That was in line with expectations. | |||||||
| Labor costs are going up. The employment cost index climbed 0.7% in the second quarter after a 0.3% increase in the first quarter. Economists expected a 0.5% gain. Wages which are about 70% of employment costs, rose 0.6% in the second quarter, the biggest increase since the third quarter of 2008. Benefits rose even faster, up 1%, mainly because of an increase in the cost of retirement plans. Health-care benefits also rose as a result of the introduction of Obamacare. Over the past 12 months, employment costs have risen 2%, up from the first-quarter rate of 1.8%. | |||||||
| The Chicago Purchasing Managers Inex dropped in July to its lowest level in over a year, according to MNI Indicators. The index fell to 52.6 in July down from 62.6 in June, and below the consensus of 63.5. It is the sharpest one month drop since the start of the financial crisis in October 2008. | |||||||
| Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for AM 1360 KUIK. | |||||||
| http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-turn-higher-one-week-after-touching-14-year-low-2014-07-31 | |||||||
| http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-employment-cost-index-posts-fastest-rise-since-2008-2014-07-31 | |||||||
| http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chicago-pmi-drops-sharply-in-july-2014-07-31 | |||||||
| For today’s Market Update Report click to listen-> | |||||||