EARLY TIDBITS

*Wal Mart beats expectations but still weak considering WMT is the white trash in retail and should have been a boon for us more poor folk. But Dollar Store is beating them quarter to quarter (and hiring new employees). That just goes to show you how bad things really are for most Americans.

*Natural Gas Inventories are up 63 BCF
UNG will not be issuing any more shares due to expectation of new CFTC rules curbing trading. This should help UNG rise in price.

*BDI up slightly for first time in weeks to 2685 +73 from yesterday's 2612.



*no one is getting richer, except bankers of course.


Unemployment claims are up more than expected
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending Aug. 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 558,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 554,000. The 4-week moving average was 565,000, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week's revised average of 556,500.

Retail sales have declined in JULY
On a monthly basis, retail sales decreased 0.1% from June to July (seasonally adjusted), and sales are off 8.3% from July 2008 (retail ex food services decreased 9.3%).


Jake: How any economist thought that a cash strapped consumer would spend more on non-autos after a large auto purchase is beyond me. Though I will say the decline in overall sales, even with an increase in sales of autos, was a surprise even to me.


*rising oil prices stoking inflation fears is just a ploy to get a pop up on gold stocks. DEFLATION is and should be the larger concern. Helicopter Ben is only one who seems to know this. Too bad he is more afraid of it than me.