Two pieces of information out today would indicate that the overall US economy is not being hurt by the housing and fuel cost problems.
According to Bloomberg, ADP says that companies in the U.S. added 189,000 jobs in November, more than economists had forecast.
The news service also writes that "productivity, a measure of employee efficiency, rose at an annual rate of 6.3 percent,"
"Greater efficiency eases pressure for companies to raise prices to counter rising energy costs, diminishing the threat of inflation. Lower labor costs will give Federal Reserve policy makers leeway to reduce interest rates to prevent the economy from slipping into a slowdown that will erode productivity."
Douglas A. McIntyre
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