ANZ Morning Brief – Back to work after Hurricane Sandy

BACK TO WORK AFTER HURRICANE SANDY . At least 40 deaths have been confirmed, with millions of lives disrupted from power outages, flooded subways and transit systems. Preliminary estimates place the total loss from the hurricane at between US $30bn-$50bn, which pales into comparison with the US$140bn+ cost from Hurricane Katrina. With the storm now forecast to weaken, life is slowly returning to normal; nuclear power plants were reported to have been shut down safely, the New York Marathon will still take place on November 4 and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics have confirmed November 2 as the release date for the October monthly US payrolls report, that will provide the last employment read prior to the November 6 election.

RISING EUROZONE UNEMPLOYMENT A WORRY. It may be a lagging variable, but it has important relevance for consumer spending and the degree of future inflationary pressure. The 146,000 rise in Eurozone unemployment in September took the unemployment rate to a record high of 11.6%. Labour markets in the periphery remained the weakest, with the Spanish unemployment rate rising to 25.8% and with July Greek unemployment above 25%. German and Belgian unemployment rates were unchanged, but rose in France and Holland . Not a desirable mix, with consumer price inflation stubbornly above 2%.