Talk of QE3 not quite dead yet?
The day after the Bearded Wonder said in the Fed’s first-ever press conference that QE3 looked unlikely, the jobs picture is starting to look more poblematic. Initial jobless claims spiked unexpectedly by 25,000 to 429,000 for the week ended April 23. The previous week’s figures were revised up to 404,000 from 403,000.
The four-week moving average rose above 400,000 for the first time since Feb. 19. Economists generally believe that claims need to stick below 400,000 before meaningful job gains can be made.
Less surprisingly, the first estimate of first-quarter GDP growth came in at 1.8%, down from 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the Commerce Department. More problematic: the PCE Price Index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3.8%, compared with a 1.7% gain in the fourth quarter. The core PCE, excluding volatile food and energy items — rose an annualized 1.5% in the first quarter. That’s up from the fourth quarter’s 0.4% increase.
via blogs.wsj.com
