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Markets News Afternoon: US service activity grew in April for the fourth consecutive month; US private sector added 32,000 jobs in April
By Finfacts Team
May 5, 2010 - 4:41:19 PM
US economic activity in the service/ non-manufacturing sector grew in April for the fourth consecutive month, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
Anthony Nieves, chair of the Institute for Supply Management Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee; and senior vice president - -supply management for Hilton Worldwide commented: "The NMI (Non-Manufacturing Index) registered 55.4% in April, the same percentage as registered in March, and indicating growth in the non-manufacturing sector. The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index increased 0.3% point to 60.3%, reflecting growth for the fifth consecutive month. The New Orders Index decreased 4.1% points to 58.2%, and the Employment Index decreased 0.3% point to 49.5%. The Prices Index increased 1.8 percentage points to 64.7 percent in April, indicating an increase in prices paid from March. According to the NMI, 14 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in April. Respondents' comments are mostly positive about current business conditions; however, they vary by industry and company."
Industry Performance: The 14 industries reporting growth in April based on the NMI composite index - - listed in order - - are: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Information; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Management of Companies & Support Services; Other Services; Wholesale Trade; Accommodation & Food Services; Construction; Finance & Insurance; Transportation & Warehousing; Mining; Retail Trade; and Public Administration. The four industries reporting contraction in April are: Utilities; Educational Services; Health Care & Social Assistance; and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.
US Private Sector Jobs: According to today's ADP National Employment Report, private sector employment increased by 32,000 from March to April on a seasonally adjusted basis. The ADP National Employment Report, created by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), in partnership with Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, is derived from actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month.
The Department of Labor will report non-farm payroll data on Friday and the ADP does not consistently track the government data.
Nonfarm Private Employment Highlights – April Report:
Total employment: +32,000
Small businesses +1,000
Medium businesses +17,000
Large businesses +14,000
Goods-producing sector: -18,000
Service-providing sector: +50,000
Addendum:
Manufacturing industry: +29,000
Athens bank blaze kills 3 as Greeks protest cuts:
NAMA: The chairman of the National Asset Management Agency warned today that no borrower is too big to fail. Speaking to the Chartered Accountants Leinster Society, former Revenue head, Frank Daly, said many borrowers had not yet abandoned the extravagant mindset of the 2003 to 2007 era.
By now, NAMA has held face-to-face meetings with the top ten developers or their representatives. These are being asked to submit detailed business plans to the agency. Daly said NAMA would approach these plans with a sense of realism - about property over-supply, prices and the prospective demand for developments.
NAMA has now completed the transfer of the first batch of loans from the banks. The discount on these loans will be 51%.
Daly said there were a large number of borrowers who owed between €5m and 420m who were not professional property developers.
"It is very difficult to understand how borrowers on relatively modest incomes could have been advanced large sums of money to invest in undeveloped sites in unpromising locations," he said. The chairman added that there were questions to be asked about the way banks were run in allowing this type of lending to take place.
Daly also said questions should be asked about Ireland's planning process in the past. He asked how many shopping centres or apartment developments could a medium-sized town accommodate?
He also said one of the more baffling features of the boom was that banks seemed oblivious to other lenders who were financing similar developments in the same area.
Daly also defended the cost of professional services used by NAMA, describing it as "low" and adding that the cost of these services would be recouped from the banks.
Discussing the Greek debt threat with Andy Busch, of BMO Capital Markets; Alec Young, of S&P; and the CNBC news team:
US markets
On Wednesday, the Dow has slid 30 points or 0.27% to 10,897.
The S&P 500 has dipped 0.43% and the Nasdaq Composite has dropped 0.45%.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil for June 2010 delivery is trading at $80.57 down $2.17 from Wednesday's close. In London, Brent crude for June delivery is trading at $83.36 a barrel.
Currencies
The euro is trading at $1.2859 and at £0.8511.
For live currency updates, check the right-hand column of the Finfacts home page.The dollar traded at a record low $1.6038 per euro on July 15, 2008.
