by Calculated Risk on 2/11/2015 06:55:00 PM
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Thursday: Retail Sales, Unemployment Claims
From Reuters: Euro zone, Greece fail to agree way forward following meeting
We explored a number of issues, one of which was the current program," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chaired the meeting, told a news conference in the early hours on Thursday in Brussels.Quote of the day:
"We discussed the possibility of an extension. For some that is clear that is preferred option but we haven't come to that conclusion as yet. We will need a little more time."
“We are not negotiating the bailout; it was cancelled by its own failure.” Greek Prime Minister Alexis TsiprasEarlier I posted some of the details of the failed agreement: Did Austerity in Greece Deliver?
Greece delivered on a primary surplus, but the details on unemployment and GDP show the "program" was the wrong policy. Time to change the policy!
Thursday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, the initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for claims to increase to 285 thousand from 278 thousand.
• Also at 8:30 AM, Retail sales for January will be released. The consensus is for retail sales to decrease 0.5% in January, and to decrease 0.5% ex-autos.
• At 10:00 AM, Manufacturing and Trade: Inventories and Sales (business inventories) report for December. The consensus is for a 0.2% increase in inventories.