Speaking Of Thermometers -- May 19, 2016 -- Temperature At Grand Forks, ND, Dropped To 23 Degrees This Morning (Water Freezes At 32 Degrees)

I guess it depends where you put the thermometers when calculating the average global temperature. Iceagenow.com is reporting:

The temperature at the Grand Forks International Airport dropped to 23 degrees this morning, breaking its 1945 record of 24, according to the National Weather Service’s Grand Forks office.

The Friday low in Grand Forks dropped to 28 degrees, according to NWS, just shy of the 1945 record low of 25 but well below the average of 40.

The thermometer topped out at 46 degrees, according to NWS readings, below the average high of 67.

Snow fell sporadically throughout Friday morning and afternoon, though not enough for accumulation.

Meanwhile, Langdon, ND, reported a low of 19 degrees, the coldest temperature reported in the state. That was a possible record low, but NWS doesn’t keep records for many smaller communities, said meteorologist Vince Godon of the Grand Forks office.

Meanwhile, in India: 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit, somewhere in India; previous record, 123.08 degrees. According to the linked article, the heat will get worse over the next few days.

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Sports Authority To Close All Stores

Update, May 19, 2016: Sports Authority will close all stores.

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Job Watch

From advisorperspectives:

In the week ending May 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 278,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 294,000. The 4-week moving average was 275,750, an increase of 7,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 268,250.

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GDPNow: May 17, 2016 -- 2.5%

The GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2016 is 2.5 percent on May 17, down from 2.8 percent on May 13.

The second-quarter forecast for real residential investment growth declined from 5.3 to 2.5 percent after this morning's housing starts release from the U.S. Census Bureau, the forecast for real consumer spending growth ticked down from 3.7 percent to 3.6 percent after this morning's Consumer Price Index release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the forecast for the contribution of inventory investment to second-quarter growth declined from -0.24 percentage points to -0.39 percentage points after this morning's industrial production release from the Federal Reserve.

The latter decline was concentrated in motor vehicle and parts dealers' inventories.