California’s Ballyhooed Recovery? Oh Dude!
10/02/2012
Wolf Richter www.testosteronepit.com
… California has its own manufacturing PMI, the Inland Empire Report on Business, … commonly called the Inland Manufacturing Index. After the recent high of 60.8 in March … in September, it crashed to 43.4—the lowest level since September 2009.
All five key components were weak. And three fell off a cliff: Production … 37.5 … New Orders … 37, and Exports … 35.7. …
But thanks to the serial and now infinite QE, … one component actually rose to 64.1, namely commodity prices. These higher input costs are adding to the pressures that businesses face. …
While there is some seasonality in this index, the fact that it dropped so sharply and, on the way down, blew past the lows of the last three years is troubling—and not only for California.
Nationwide, CEOs (are) slashing capital expenditures and jobs—to “reflect global demand flattening out, particularly in Europe and China,” explained Boeing CEO Jim McNerney. The numbers evoke the dark days of 2009 and double-digit unemployment. It’s been a steep and bumpy slide. Read…. The Miraculous Decoupling of Reality, for Now.
And so, California municipalities are cracking: … Read…. Next in a Tidal Wave of California Municipal Bankruptcies, by hard-hitting Chriss Street.
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