The S&P 500 erased its gains for December on the last day of 2014, as soft economic data brought greater uncertainty over America’s economic recovery.
The index of American stocks fell 1% by the end of trading, ending the year up over 11%, while the Dow Jones Industrial large-cap index lost 0.9%. Volumes were 25% below recent averages, indicating light activity in the market.
The city of angels is not really recovering from the Great Recession. Nearly eight years ago, when a nationwide financial crisis triggered and set in motion the worst economic downturn of the 21st century on Alan Greenspan’s and Barnie Frank’s watch, unemployment in Los Angeles soared to over 13%.
The recession blasted the city and today its unemployment level is still 8.7%, which is nothing to cheer. It is actually much higher because this number does not reflect the number of people who have given up trying to find a job.
American home prices fell slightly in the latest data, but consumer confidence has reached a yearlong high as cheap oil spurs higher consumption.
The S&P Case-Shiller index saw a 4.5% year-over-year rise in home prices, but that included a 0.1% month-over-month decline in October prices compared to September levels. While the data was in-line with economists’ expectations, some analysts say that the slowdown may continue in 2015 as the real estate recovery slows to a more normalized rate of growth.
The city of Chicago usually ranks at the top for its economic potential among major cities, not just in the United States but also, across the world. However, the reality has been a poor reflection of expectations. In 2013, World Business Chicago identified over 700 new & rapidly expanding facilities that were underdeveloped or unutilized in the metro area.
Several economists at investment banks have predicted strong and improving economic growth in 2015, leading to growing confidence in higher interest rates for U.S. bonds.
Goldman Sachs has published its forecasts for 2015, which predict global GDP growth of 3.4%, above 3% growth in 2014 as both developed and emerging markets see growth acceleration from the prior year. Developed markets expect to grow 2.2% and emerging markets 4.9%, both higher than the 1.9% and 4.6% rates of 2014.
The trending dip in crude oil prices after OPEC’s decision to keep its production ceiling unchanged heralds the most terrible decision ever, according to Iraq’s oil minister and various other industry speculators. Oil has been spiraling lower this year as the US pumped out an unprecedented amount of oil because of the wonders of fracking and oil shale. American ingenuity is at it again.
The Federal Reserve is optimistic about economic conditions, and many in the central bank are predicting more Americans will find full-time work in 2015.
Natural gas prices have continued to fall in price even as oil begins to see a rebound, leaving traders wondering if the two commodities are beginning to decouple.
Natural gas futures fell below $3 per million BTUs on Friday morning, their lowest level since 2012. The decline means natural gas prices have fallen by 29% in 2014, and many economists believe further price declines are possible in 2015.
Statistics suggest that Sydney may be holding up the entire Australian economy once again, after contributing approximately 40% of the country’s growth during the last financial year. In 2013-2014, the economy of greater Sydney experienced an expansion of 4.3%, its fastest rate of growth in fourteen years according to a report on the economic performance of Australian cities.
Florida, one of the first and worst hit states by the Great Recession in 2007, started out with major job losses during at the beginning of April 2007. This was several months ahead of any other state. When the nation began to recover around June 2009, Florida was slow to reap the benefits and lagged behind the rest of the country’s growing economy for several years. However, as of 2014, Florida’s economy is now leading the nation in terms job growth and overall recovery, despite its tattered past.
