ICSC-UBS Store Sales 0.0%
(Econoday.com) - Retailer sales were unchanged in the week ended Feb. 28 compared with the prior week, but year-on-year sales were up a sharp 7.9 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers/UBS report. The ICSC-UBS seasonally adjusted index stands at 438.1, well above the average January level of 428.
Redbook +1.2%
(Econoday.com) - Retailer sales rose a sharp 1.2 percent in February compared to January and were up a strong 5.3 percent compared to February 2003, according to Redbook. Year-on-year sales in the Feb. 28 week rose 5.8 percent. The report said February turned out to be a success for retailers, helped in part by milder weather and heavy spring promotions.
Bank of Canada -0.25%
(Econoday.com) - The Bank of Canada once again lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points. The Bank's policy making interest rate is now 2.25 percent. Inflation is not a problem with the core inflation rate at 1.5 percent and employment continues to grow. But other sectors of the export driven economy are being impacted by the strong Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar.
In its statement, the Bank said that "Information received since the Bank's last interest rate announcement has been broadly consistent with the economic outlook presented in the January Monetary Policy Report Update. As expected, core and total CPI inflation in January moved significantly below the 2 percent inflation target. While external demand has been slightly stronger and final domestic demand in Canada slightly weaker than expected, the Bank's outlook remains, on balance, unchanged.
In this context, today's decision to provide some additional monetary stimulus was taken to support aggregate demand and to return inflation to the target by the end of 2005. The Bank will monitor closely the evolution of external and domestic demand and the pressures on inflation, as the economy adjusts to global changes."
Challenger Job-cuts Report 77,250
(Econoday.com) - Challenger reported 77,250 job cut announcements for the month of February, a 34.3 percent drop from January levels and a 44.1 percent drop from February a year ago. Challenger job-cut announcements need to be viewed cautiously since the data are not adjusted for seasonal variation. Layoff announcements did decline in February for the past three years. Nonetheless, the February 2004 levels are at their lowest in six months, suggesting that perhaps labor market conditions are beginning to improve.
4-Week Bill Treasury Rate 0.960%
(Econoday.com) - An unusually large offering size hurt results in Tuesday's 4-week auction. The bid-to-cover ratio for the giant $22 billion auction was a very weak 1.61 vs. 2.50 in last week's $19 billion auction. The high rate was 0.960 percent, a sharp 2-1/2 basis points above last week and the highest rate this year.
Motor Vehicle Sales 7.6M Light Trucks 5.4M Cars
(Econoday.com) - Domestic cars were sold at a 5.4 million unit rate in February, up 3.8 percent from January's 5.2 million unit selling pace and in line with expectations. Automakers posted healthy gains across the board in February relative to January. Among the majors, Ford and Chrysler posted declined from year ago levels, but most of the other car manufacturers increased their selling pace.
Light trucks were sold at a 7.6 million unit rate in February, down 2.6 percent from January's 7.8 million unit selling pace, and significantly lower than predicted by economists. All the major manufacturers posted healthy gains from the previous month and most were also higher than a year ago. But the reduced selling rate for light trucks is likely disappointing to manufacturers since profit margins are higher for light trucks and SUVs. All in all, the February selling pace was exactly the same as January with a less profitable mix (more cars, less trucks).
04.03.02 17:28 #