oesn't indicate a very strong housing market. Withforeclosures still peaking, the housing market is not likely tomake great strides now that it's essentially come back from thepost-homebuyer credit plunge."
For more Reuters consensus forecasts for U.S. indicators
christain loubatins ,double-click on [ECI/US]
-- by Theodore Littleton
christain loubatins , Vimombi Nshom and David Sloan ofIFR Markets, a unit of Thomson Reuters.Markets
WHAT: National Federation of Independent Business SmallBusiness Optimism Index, MayWHEN: Tuesday 0730 EDT (1130 GMT)FORECASTS Reuters IFR PreviousNFIB Index ---- 91.5 91.2IFR COMMENTARY: "The NFIB Small Business Optimism Indexprobably won't have moved very much
christian louboutin ladies shoes or the time it takes for the disease to worsen, and we expect that the Mayfigure will see only a slight increase, from 91.2 to about91.5. The Fed's latest Beige Book report indicated that someDistricts were seeing slightly higher loan demand from smallbusinesses
christain loubatins , possibly a sign of improving conditions in thesector.
Among the key components we'll be watching is thepercentage of firms with one or more hard-to-fill jobs, whichcould be thought of as an inverse measure of the output gap.While it ticked down from +15 to +14 in April, it remainshigher than it was at any time in 2009 or 2010.
Another important index would be the net percentage offirms expecting higher sales, which fell from +14 in Februaryto +6 in March, then down to +5 in April. While conditions atthe moment remain weak, we look for signs that optimism isincreasing
christain loubatins , and that the current economic softness will bebrief."-----------------WHAT: Labor Dept. Producer Price Index, MayWHEN: Tuesday 0830 EDT (1230 GMT)FORECASTS (pct) Reuters IFR PreviousPPI +0.1 +0.4 +0.8PPI ex-food/energy +0.2 +0.5 +0.3PPI year-over-year +6.8 +7.4 +6.8Core PPI, year-over-year +2.1 +2.4 +2.1
IFR COMMENTARY: "May should see a headline PPI rise of 0.4%and a stronger 0.5% increase in the core rate ex food andenergy. In 2011 to date the core rate has been trending around0.3% per month, a clear acceleration from the 2010 picture, andMay should be stronger still. Auto prices, a frequent source ofcore PPI volatility, due to reduced auto discounting givensupply shortages coming from Japan, should push May's core PPIabove trend. Food should see a marginal 0.3% increase withupward pressure in farm prices having faded. Energy should beunchanged, with losses in gasoline offsetting gains elsewhere.Sharp falls in gasoline prices late in the month will come toolate for the PPI survey but seasonal adjustments should ensurea decline in adjusted gasoline pri
christain loubatins -- by Theodore Littleton
Linear Mode
