The pace of hiring at US companies picked up last month, according to the ADP Employment Report. Private payrolls increased by 257,000 in December in seasonally adjusted terms—beating the consensus forecast by a wide margin and delivering the strongest monthly gain in a year for this series. The surprisingly good news provides some relief after several days of discouraging economic updates.
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The Atlanta Fed’s widely followed GDPNow model kicked off the new year with a hefty downgrade for fourth-quarter growth expectations. Deutsche Bank jumped on the pessimism bandwagon on Tuesday. Adding to the gloom is yesterday’s numbers on auto sales for December and Monday’s weak data on manufacturing for 2015’s end. Is it time to throw in the towel for projecting US growth? No pressure, but today’s ADP Employment Report for December could drop a crucial clue.
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● US auto sales fell sharply in Dec but set 2015 record | Reuters
● PMI: Eurozone economic growth hits 4-1/2 year high in Q4:2015| Markit
● Caixin China Composite PMI dips below neutral 50 level in Dec | Markit
● Dragon Tail Risk for World Economy on Higher Fear of China Slump | Bloomberg
● North Korea’s claims it tested a hydrogen bomb | WaPo