Eco Analysis - US Employment Report: Surprisingly Good (B. Jones)

Eco Analysis - US Employment Report: Surprisingly Good (B. Jones)

■ Nonfarm job growth eclipsed all projections for a second straight month in November

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payrolls expanded by 146K in November, following a revised 138K rise in October (was 171K) and 132K increase in September (was 148K). Last month's print exceeded both our (122K) and the median Street (85K) expectations. Indeed, for the second month in a row, the front-month job gain eclipsed all published economist projections.

SG: US Housing: Home prices dipped again in August

■ Home prices moved lower in 20 US cities during August (B. Jones)

S&P/Case-Shiller (SPCS) reported that home prices in the 20 US cities that they track fell by 0.05% in August, after a downward revised 0.15% decline in July. The August print marked the fourth consecutive monthly slide and was weaker than the median Street expectation for a 0.1% rise. Since April, home prices have fallen by 0.3%, erasing three quarters of the rise posted in that month. The reported August dip left the index 3.8% below its year-to-year level the smallest 12-month decline since April.

SG: Eco Analysis - US Housing Activity: Multifamily mayhem (B. Jones)

Eco Analysis - US Housing Activity: Multifamily mayhem (B. Jones)

■ Powered by a surge in multifamily activity, housing starts jumped to 17-month high

The number of new housing units started jumped by 15.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 658,000 in September, following upward-revised tallies of 615,000 in July and 572,000 in August. The reported figure exceeded the consensus expectation (590,000) by a country mile and represented the strongest activity since April 2010 (687,000). Reflecting solid demand for rental dwellings, multifamily starts soared by 51.3% to 233,000, accounting for all but a fraction of last month's rise. Single-family starts, climbed by a comparatively modest 1.7% to 425,000, essentially matching the July-August average.

SG: New home sales slumped to a five-month low in July (B. Jones)

Eco Analysis - New home sales slumped to a five-month low in July (B. Jones)

■ Consistent with our expectation, new home sales remained on a downtrend

The Census Bureau reported that the number of new homes going to contract slipped by 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000 in July, boosting the cumulative slide since April to 5.7%. Downward adjustments to the previously reported figures for April through June pared the Q2 average by 7,000 to 308,000.