Thursday, January 21, 2016

Reuters spin on the jobs report today: I don't recall ever seeing this from Reuters in the past six years -- a concern about the jobs numbers. Today Reuters writes:

At a six-month high, unemployment claims suggest some loss of momentum in the labor market amid a sharp economic slowdown and major stock market selloff.

US consumer prices fall 0.1% in December; no inflation on the horizon. 
 
Remember that Wal-Mart story of a just a few days ago when Wal-Mart said it scuttled plans to build Wal-Mart stores in Washington, DC, due to new minimum wage rules in the District. Something doesn't ring true. Look at today's story in the Wall Street Journal: Wal-Mart to Boost Wages for Most U.S. Store Workers. Retailer broadens pay increase as it tries to counter tight labor market and stem turnover:

With the raises planned for February, average hourly earnings will be $13.38 for Wal-Mart’s full-time store employees and $10.58 for part-time workers, the company said.

I have no doubt the Wal-Mart folks told DC that it was the minimum wage rules but the existing DC minimum wage and the likely increase were not all that extreme, it appears. It might have been the family benefits but my hunch is that Baltimore/Ferguson were fresh in their minds. Anyway, it is what it is.

Not unexpected: United Continental airline profit rises on lower fuel costs. I assume the airline is cutting fares in light of all the money it is saving on fuel. I wonder if they ever eliminated the fuel surcharge? Oh, that's right. With the merger, minimal competition to encourage any price cuts.

Also from today's Journal: schools in Detroit, Chicago seek state help.

Widespread teacher “sickouts” all but closed Detroit’s public schools Wednesday and Republican legislators in Illinois called for a state takeover of Chicago’s district, as two of the nation’s largest systems face financial strain.

Detroit teachers have staged several sickouts to protest class sizes that have swelled to over 40 students, as well as mold and other hazards in schools. Wednesday’s protest, timed to coincide with President Barack Obama visit to the Detroit auto show, was the largest.

The closures come amid calls for Michigan to help the city’s shrinking school system contend with a financial crisis that hit a year after Detroit emerged from the nation’s biggest municipal bankruptcy. The Detroit Public Schools, whose finances are separate from the city’s, could run out of money by April.