Factory Report: Mixed, but Good Mixed
Quick point: Since the media always reports good economic news for Bush as being actually quite bad -- as good economic news heralds rising interest rates -- will they therefore celebrate this disappointing news as being just a terrific development?
We doubt it. When it comes to the media's reporting of economic news under Republican presidencies, the glass is always half-empty, and furthermore the glass just lost its health-care benefits and got downsized from its job in favor of a cup of agua working in Belieze for 33 cents per month.
But there's some great news in the report as well:
"This will fuel optimism that manufacturing payrolls can post further gains after rising by a combined 37,000 in the last three months," said HSBC Chief Economist Ian Morris.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its gauge of regional industry dropped to 23.8 in May from 32.5 in April, far below economists' forecasts of a dip to 32.0.
But that still showed an expanding factory sector, for the 12th straight month, and hiring prospects improved to the best level since April 1973.
Although the increase in national factory jobs has been modest, it has ended a three-year drought, when layoffs dominated.
Cowbell Notification: Sorry, no cowbell for mixed economic news.