Friday, January 04, 2008

Quick Overview

  • The U.S. unemployment rate rose from 4.7% to 5.0% in December -- less than expected.

  • The Institute of Supply Managements' index of services dropped from 54.1 to 53.9 in December.


  • Services in the U.K. increased from 51.9 to 52.4 in December, more than expected.


  • The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were down 87 billion cubic feet last week

  • It is estimated that Funds had $110 billion to invest into the commodity markets in 2007. The estimate for 2008 is expected to grow by 36% to $150 billion.

  • The Far Eastern Freight Conference said its member shipping lines had increased volume 19.4% on westbound Asia-Europe/Med routes in November.

  • From January to November 2007, eastern China's Anhui province handled 9.8 million tons of imports and exports, up 73% YoY.

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