From the WaPo: House shifts focus to 'jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs' "It's jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs," Rep. John B. Larson (D-Conn.) ... said ... "Members of this caucus feel ... that a jobless recovery is just simply unacceptable to us." And Reuters list some possible items "under consideration": U.S. Hou ... Read more

Earlier I posted a graph on capacity utilization: Industrial Production, Capacity Utilization Increase Slightly in October Spencer at Angry Bear is tracking the recovery in industrial production compared to previous recessions.As the chart shows, this changes the impression the previous repor ... Read more

From DataQuick : Southland home sales up again, drop in median price smallest in 2 years Southern California home sales rose in October as prices showed more signs of firming. The median sale price fell by the smallest amount in two years, the result of a shrinking inventory of homes for sale an ... Read more

Click on graph for larger image in new window. This graph shows the builder confidence index from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The housing market index (HMI) was at 17 in November. October was revised down from 18 to 17. The record low was 8 set in January. Th ... Re ... Read more

From Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker The Economic Outlook : Earlier this year some economists were highlighting the risk that the low level of economic activity could push the rate of inflation down, perhaps even below zero. I think the risk of a substantial further reduction in inflation h ... Read more

From the Fed: Industrial production and Capacity Utilization Industrial production increased 0.1 percent in October ... Manufacturing production moved down 0.1 percent and the output of mines decreased 0.2 percent, but the index for utilities rose 1.6 percent. At 98.6 percent of its 2002 average ... Read more

TransUnion reports that the 60 day mortgage delinquency rate increased to a record 6.25% in Q3, from 5.81% in Q2. From TransUnion: Mortgage Loan Delinquency Rates on Course to Hit Record in 2009 Mortgage loan delinquency (the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due) increased for the 11th st ... Read more

Some late night entertainment from Merle Hazard (other hits include Inflation or Deflation? , Mark to Market and H-E-D-G-E ) Note: Merle will be performing live at the annual convention of the American Economic Association , Sunday, January 3, 2010, 8 p.m. in Atlanta. ... Read the full post ... Read more

In June 2008, reader Brian sent me an email that started: "When the bankers are selecting color schemes, you know a project isn't going well" He was referring to Deutsche Bank foreclosing on the $3.5 billion Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Bloomberg has an update: Deutsche Bank ... Read more

In a report (pdf) titled "Factors Affecting Efforts to Limit Payments to AIG Counterparties", Neil Barofsky, special inspector for TARP, wrote that the "negotiating strategy to pursue concessions from [AIG] counterparties offered little opportunity for success, even in the light of the willingness ... Read more