● US Q1 GDP Shrinks Less Than Previously Estimated | Bloomberg
● US Mortgage Applications Rose 1.6% Last Week: MBA | ON
● Fund investors flee US stock funds | USA Today
● German Consumer Climate To Fall First Time In 8 Months In July | MNI
● Greece bailout crisis: talks enter last-minute search for a deal | Guardian
● Lack of Greek deal weighs on European stocks | Reuters

The economic news remains mixed for the US, but the Treasury market continues to anticipate that the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike since 2006 is near. That’s the implied message in the upward momentum in Treasury yields.
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● US durable goods orders data suggest mfg. stabilizing | Reuters
● New US home sales rose to 7-year high in May | USA Today
● US manufacturing PMI drops to its lowest since Oct 2013 | Markit
● China Leading Index Climbs 1.1% In May – Conference Board | RTT
● Germany’s Ifo Index Drops For Second Straight Month In June | MNI
● Divisions Remain as Eurozone Ministers Meet Over Greece Deal | WSJ

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index’s three-month average (CFNAI-MA3) posted a fractional increase in May. Although growth remains below trend, the business cycle benchmark’s three-month average ticked higher for the second month in a row and is currently at its highest level since January. As such, recession risk remains low, based on the three-month average of the index, which rose to -0.16 last month—well above the -0.70 mark that signals the start of new recessions, according to Chicago Fed guidelines.
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US economic growth is projected to post a moderate rebound in the second quarter, based on The Capital Spectator’s average estimate for several econometric-based forecasts. GDP is on track to rise 1.7% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the “advance” Q2 report scheduled for release on July 30 via the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The average forecast is a relatively sluggish rate, although today’s revised outlook marks a revival after Q1’s 0.7% slump.
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● Chicago Fed Nat’l Activity Index: Growth Still Stunted in May | Morningstar
● US Existing-Home Sales Increase 5.1% in May | WSJ
● Eurozone flash consumer confidence indicator stable in June | EC
● Flash Eurozone PMI hits four-year high in June | Markit
● German PMI: output increases at stronger rate, new order growth slows | Markit
● China Manufacturing Sector Continues To Shrink – HSBC | RTT

Deaccumulation is the new new thing in finance for an obvious reason: the US population is aging, which means that retirement becomes an increasingly pressing issue for financial planning. Perhaps the leading challenge for this critical task (other than accumulating a sufficient pot of money) is managing the withdrawals from a retirement portfolio. The task is a delicate balancing act of maximizing deaccumlation in the short term (over a one-year period, for instance) without running out of money before a retiree shuffles off this mortal coil. An absolute solution will always remain elusive due to the standard issues that bedevil finance, but some basic modeling applications can wrestle the uncertainty down to a comparatively tame beast.
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● US economy shows signs of heating up — but not sizzling | MarketWatch
● US business inflation expectations virtually unchanged at 1.9% | Atlanta Fed
● While Everyone Is Watching the Fed, the Economy Slips | Morningstar
● Mood brightens after latest Greek offer to creditors | Reuters
● EU Moscovici: Latest Greek Proposals Could Be Basis for Accord | MNI

The three-month average of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) is expected to slip fractionally, falling slightly deeper into negative territory in the May update that’s scheduled for tomorrow (May 22), based on The Capital Spectator’s average point forecast for several econometric estimates. The projection for -0.24 is a touch below the -0.23 reading for April, which reflects a below-average pace of economic growth for the US relative to the historical trend. Only negative values below -0.70 indicate an “increasing likelihood” that a recession has started, according to guidelines from the Chicago Fed. Using today’s estimate for May as a guide, CFNAI’s three-month average is expected to remain at a rate of growth that’s below the historical trend but still well above the tipping point that marks the start of a new recession.
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● The Mythology of Work: How Capitalism Persists Despite Itself
By Peter Fleming
Essay by author via The Guardian
It is clear that the relationship between jobs and pay is now governed by a new principle. The old days in which your pay was linked to the number of hours you clocked up, the skill required and the societal worth of the job are long over. Other factors play a bigger role in determining how much you are rewarded today. This is why we live in a world where the task of walking a millionaire’s dog through Hyde Park is considered more valuable than an NHS nurse (starting salary £21k).
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