16. September 2007 by Ana Connell.

Monday 17

Empire State Manufacturing Survey-monthly survey of manufacturers in New York State.Consensus20

3 Month & 6 Month Bill Auction

Tuesday 18

FOMC Monetary Policy Announcement Consensus 4.75%    50 basis point cut

Housing Market Index-Produced by the National Association of Home Builders.  This is a survey which is filled out by the members of this organization and it gives their opinion of the general state of the housing market and the economy.

Producer Price Index  PPI Consensus Forecast for August 07: -.3% percent

State Street Investor Confidence Index Measures actual levels of risk in investor portfolio.

Treasury Int’l Capital-measures foreign demand for our debt and assets by tracking flows of financial instruments into and out of the U.S.

ICSC-USB Store Sales  Tracks comparable weekly sales from major retail chains and represents 10% of total retail sales.  Is considered to be one of the most timely indicators of consumer spending.

Redbook a timely indicator of consumer spending and also represents about 10% of total retail sales.  This measure tracks weekly sales from discounters, chain and department stores.

4 Week bill Auction

Wednesday 19

Housing Starts Consensus 1.360M  Starts dropped in July by a revised 6.1%

CPI-Consumer Price Index- Consensus 0.0% measures average price of a fixed set of goods and services used by consumers.

MBA Purchase Applications measures applications at mortgage lenders.  This is considered a leading indicator for single family home sales and housing construction.

EIA Petroleum Status Report reports on crude oil inventories in the U.S.

Thursday 20

Leading Indicators-Consensus -.3% -Report looks at ten different sources that are supposed to indicate overall economic activity.  This figure tends to be revised after the fact and does not do a great job of predicting downturns or upturns.

Jobless Claims Unemployment claims. Consensus 320k

EIA Natural Gas Report-Tracks natural gas inventories.

Philidelphia Fed Survey- Consensus 4.0…the lower the number indicates a slower growth rate for manufacturing.

3 , 6 month Treasury Bill Annoucement  Investors use this data to attempt to predict future Federal Reserve policy.

Money Supply

Friday 21

Quadruple Witching!

This week is all about the Fed and whether they will cut interest rates by 1/4 or 1/2 percent.  It’s not as easy as it looks, as the Fed will have to juggle concerns of a weak dollar, inflation and a weak economy into their decision.

Some very interesting reports due out this week, so we’ll see what happens next!

Have a great week!

Remember to click on the links for more information on each report.

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16. September 2007 by Ana Connell.

For a fun night out, come check out Taste of Downtown Burbank this coming Thursday, September 27 from 5:30pm-9:30pm.

It promises to be a fun event as over 30 restaurants and local eateries will participate by providing food from each of the establishments. There will also be a Beer and Wine Walk in front of the AMC Theaters.

Entertainment includes Lao Tizer, a contemporary jazz performer and Stompy Jones, for fun rock and roll!

Cost for the event, if you preorder, is $25 per adult, food only, $35 per adult for food and Kids are $10. Add $5 for same day tickets.

Proceeds will benefit the Burbank YMCA!

It promises to be a fun event!

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16. September 2007 by Ana Connell.

There are items from last week and the upcoming week that I thought you might find of interest concerning the Burbank City Council.

Last week the Burbank City Council approved a “zone text amendment” for the Rancho area. As you may recall there was a heated discussion about this project last year. I wrote a post about some of the concerns in

Burbank City Council gets tough on Rancho Neighborhood Developments.

Bottom line is that by a 3-2 vote (Councilmembers Golonski and Bric dissented) the council voted to end grocery store development in the Rancho area. They also approved the zone text amendment stating that food stores on a smaller scale would be allowed.

My thoughts revolve around the logistics. Is it easier to police a larger entity like a Whole Foods or a mom and pop type store. Is it easier to gain day to day concessions from a national chain with lots to lose over bad PR or a local store that may not be as willing to appease the neighborhood?

I don’t have all the answers for this issue and certainly understand some of the concerns posed by residents. At the same time I think we have to be very careful in what we request.

Coming up this week:

Energy Programs

The council will hear presentations from Burbank Water and Power regarding installation of 20 Ice Bear thermal storage units, which would provide space for cooling and an air conditioning efficiency program.

Frederic Street Construction 1600 Block

The council will review a decision made by the Planning Board to reject a home expansion project on this block. The issue stems over the legality of the unit with respect to city zoning laws.

The Burbank City Council meets at City Council Chambers in City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave. Tuesday at 6:30pm.

Posted in Government Issues!, City News, Blogroll | Print | 1 Comment »