Some Common Cents for July 5th 2013

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This morning’s Employment Situation report was better than most people anticipated. The economy created some 195K new payrolls during June, and all seems well with the world. Why in the heck would anyone look a gift horse in the mouth, or complain about the free beer being too cold?

I suppose it is just in my nature. Simply put, the data was a little too good, given the overall level of economic activity we have seen recently. After all, we now know the economy grew about 1.8% during 1Q 2013. Both ISM reports, manufacturing and non-manufacturing, are about where they were last June, and below where they were in June of 2011 and 2010.

So, why did the US economy create about 196K per month during 2Q 2013, when it created only 108K per month during 2Q 2012? …Read On…

The opinions expressed within this report are those of John Norris as of the initial publication of this blog. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders, and employees.