Also at 8:30 AM EST, the Consumer Price Index report for January will be . . . → Read More: Economic Events on February 17, 2011]]> At 8:30 AM EST, the U.S. government will release its weekly Jobless Claims report.  The consensus is that there were 410,000 new jobless claims last week, which would would be 27,000 more than the unexpectedly low number released last week.

Also at 8:30 AM EST, the Consumer Price Index report for January will be released.  The consensus is that CPI increased by 0.3% last month, with a 0.1% increase in CPI when food and energy are removed.

At 10:00 AM EST, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify before Senate Banking Committee on Dodd-Frank reforms, with SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, and CFTC Chair Gary Gensler.

Also at 10:00 AM EST, the Leading Indicators report for January will be released.  The consensus is that this index increased by 0.2% last month, which would be the sixth month of improvement in a row.

Also at 10:00 AM EST, the Philadelphia Fed Survey report for February will be released.  The consensus is that the index will be at 22, which would be an increase of 2.7 points from the previous month.

At 10:30 AM EST, the weekly Energy Information Administration Natural Gas Report will be released, giving an update on natural gas inventories in the United States.

At 4:30 PM EST, the Federal Reserve will release its Money Supply report, showing the amount of liquidity available in the U.S. economy.

Also at 4:30 PM EST, the Federal Reserve will release its Balance Sheet report, showing the amount of liquidity the Fed has injected into the economy by adding or removing reserves.

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Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, Sheila Bair, Mary Schapiro and Gary Gensler will participate in the first meeting of the Financial Stability . . . → Read More: Economic Events on October 1, 2010]]> The figures for motor vehicle sales in September will be released today.  The consensus estimate is that 8.6 million autos were sold last month, which would be an increase of 300,000 from August.

Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, Sheila Bair, Mary Schapiro and Gary Gensler will participate in the first meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

At 8:30 AM EDT, the monthly Personal Income and Outlays report for August will be released.  The consensus for Personal Income is an increase of 0.3% over the previous month,  the consensus Consumer Spending index change is an increase of 0.4% and the consensus Core PCE price index change is an increase of 0.1%.

At 9:55 AM EDT, Consumer Sentiment for the second half of September will be announced.  The consensus is that the index will be at 67, which is 0.4 points higher than the value reported in the first half of the month.

At 10:00 AM EDT, the Construction Spending report for August will be released, and the consensus is that there will a decline of 0.4% in spending compared to the previous month.

Also at 10:00 AM EDT, the ISM Manufacturing Index for September will be released.  The consensus is that the index value will be 54.5, which would be an decrease of 1.8 points from August, but would be the fourteenth month of expansion in a row.

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The Monster Employment Index for August was released today, and the index moved down 2 points to a value of . . . → Read More: Economic Events on September 2, 2010]]> The monthly Chain Store Sales report will be released today.  This report on sales in chain stores gives a look at the health of stores that make up about 10% of all retail sales.

The Monster Employment Index for August was released today, and the index moved down 2 points to a value of 136, which was an increase of 12% from last year.

At 8:30 AM EDT, the U.S. government will release its weekly Jobless Claims report.  The consensus is that there were 470,000 new jobless claims last week, which would would be an slight decrease in claims from last week’s number.

Also at 8:30 AM EDT, the Productivity and Costs report for the second quarter of 2010 will be released.  The consensus is that non-farm productivity was decreased by 1.9% in the last quarter and labor unit costs increased 1.2%.

At 9:00 AM EDT, Ben Bernanke and Sheila Bair will testify before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

At 10:00 AM EDT, the Factory Orders report will be released.  The consensus is for an decrease of 0.5% in orders in July.

Also at 10:00 AM EDT,the value of the pending home sales index for July will be announced.

At 10:30 AM EDT, the weekly Energy Information Administration Natural Gas Report will be released, giving an update on natural gas inventories in the United States.

At 4:30 PM EDT, the Federal Reserve will release its Money Supply report, showing the amount of liquidity available in the U.S. economy.

Also at 4:30 PM EDT, the Federal Reserve will release its Balance Sheet report, showing the amount of liquidity the Fed has injected into the economy by adding or removing reserves.

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Bair understands something that most taxpayers could have told Paulson a long time ago. While the Treasury . . . → Read More: Sheila Bair: A Ray of Light in a Dark Economy]]> Sheila Bair keeps speaking out, and certainly deserves respect as a clear-thinker in these abominable economic times. Bair reiterates the same message week after week, although most likely the cause of a few ‘Paulson & Co’ migraines.

Bair understands something that most taxpayers could have told Paulson a long time ago. While the Treasury busily attempts to avoid what Paulson describes as ’systemic crash-and-burn’, force lenders to lend, and calm investor panic, Sheila knows that troubled taxpayers can neither borrow, nor spend more.

FDIC Chairwoman Bair is an advocate for mortgage modification. She supports steering the helm of mortgages in serious payment delinquency. She proposes modifying them to a 38% cap on income, daring all the way down to 31% of earned income if necessary. In addition, she proposes lowering interest rates on mortgages, and increasing payment time.

Bair emphasizes that in calculating new mortgages, FICO scores will not be considered. It is a beacon of light for all those worry-deep in credit debt. Any modifications will be based solely on the earned, actual income of households.

The bad news is that it is currently too late for many already in the foreclosure line. The good news, however, is that her proposal can save so many more from heading down the same path. Healthy family finances, means greater consumer spending. Isn’t this what Paulson also hoped for? Go figure.

Far from everyone is headed for foreclosure, however, the numbers are not only disturbing, they are an important indicator. We can only imagine the unknown number of subprime households teetering on the edge of one or two delinquent payments.

Sheila Bair provides a necessary solution to the core problem. The second part of the solution needs to come from an Obama investment in immediate job creation, minimizing longterm effects of a lengthy unemployment line. These two solutions would allow the grassroots to once more grow, and the corporate world could restructure their way back to health and viability.

Thumbs up for Sheila Bair.

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