US Perspective—11.11.08
11/11/2008
The Jacobsen Commentary and Market Opinion
Courtesy of www.thejacobsen.com
In North America the situation is the same as it is globally, if not worse. The dollar being comparatively stronger against many of the world’s currencies has put exporters in a precarious situation. Packers are stubbornly insisting that their price levels are steady-to-slightly-softer whereas many tanners and processors are claiming that a precipitous drop in price is overdue.
There continue to be rumors of hides piling up in warehouses but none of these claims has been substantiated. The US export numbers showed a significant gain in net sales from the week before and a 17% increase from the previous four-week period. The majority of those sales were destined for China.
The New York stock market continues to tumble and lose the gains it made last week. The US jobless claims are up and according to Reuters, 56% of retailers have failed to meet Wall Street’s expectations in their most recent results.
More macabre news is being reported about US automakers with their sales and production numbers continually plummeting. Commodities continue to sink as well and as the time goes by the markets seem to be experiencing a period of deflation.
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