Archived IMT (2008.12.24)

The latest figures on US weekly jobless claims and personal consumption illustrate the accelerating path of unemployment and appreciating rate of decline in inflation, both of which highlight the need for the Federal Reserves latest push on the reflationary pedal. The 30K increase in jobless claims to 586K pushed up the 4-week moving average to 558Kanother high since the 1980 recession, making a 9% unemployment rate for 2009 a more potent possibility.