Thursday, February 5, 2009

Latest Financial Numbers - Deflation has Started?

The following are the latest financial metrics from the Department of Labor statistics issued today. The CPI is down 0.7% in December but eh PPI is down 1.9% which is a predictor for CPI in Q1 2009. This is a sign for deflation which may have started in earnest. The Import Price Index is down a whopping 4.2% which drives the PPI.












Unemployment claims for January are exceeding 582K. However productivity continues to rise. Payroll drops 524K.

The set of DoL numbers begins to paint the picture of deflation, which on top of the housing crisis will cause more twists in the overall financial mess.