SHOWTIME!
- June Nonfarm Payrolls: +288K vs. consensus +212K, +224K previous (revised from 217K).
- Unemployment rate: 6.1% vs. 6.3% consensus, 6.3% previous.
Gas Prices Wallop Wallets As Americans drive to barbecues and the beach in coming days, they will be paying more for gas than on any Independence Day weekend since the record highs of 2008.
A gallon of unleaded gasoline cost an average of $3.67 Wednesday, almost 20 cents above last year’s price, according to automobile club AAA. In California, drivers have been paying well over $4 a gallon for weeks. (…)
A jump in gasoline prices is unusual for this time of year. Prices typically peak around Memorial Day, the start of the summer driving season. According to AAA, prices at the pump fell by an average of 21 cents a gallon in June in the past three years. But they rose this year due to the turmoil in Iraq. (…)
In reality, this is not a big deal, yet.
Retail Rents on Rise as Space at a Premium Shopping-center owners continued to increase rents in the second quarter as a host of retailers in expansion mode jockeyed for dwindling available space in existing high-quality centers.
REFLATION
Germany Approves Minimum Wage
Germany’s parliament gave the green light to the country’s first national minimum wage Thursday despite criticism from employers who said the new law could result in job losses.
Wrapping up months of tough negotiations, 535 of the 601 lawmakers that cast their vote adopted a statutory wage floor of €8.50 ($11.60) an hour, starting from 2015, with a two year-transition period granted to some sectors. The law also excludes some groups from the minimum wage who are believed to be at the greatest risk of being priced out of the job market, such as the long-term unemployed, those under 18 and short-term interns. (…)
ECB Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged The European Central Bank held interest rates unchanged despite signs of persistently weak inflation that threatens the region’s fragile recovery.
Sweden Cuts Main Interest Rate Sweden’s Riksbank made a surprisingly large cut to its main interest rate, lowering borrowing costs for the first time in six months to boost a sagging inflation rate.
The Riksbank said it would cut its main repo rate to 0.25% from 0.75%. (…)
The Governor of the Riksbank Stefan Ingves said at his news conference that Swedes were already borrowing too much and that Sweden’s high and rising household debt levels were unsustainable. However, he also made clear that it was for others outside the Riksbank to deal with. (…)