Service Industries in U.S. Expanded at Faster Pace in June

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

by Victoria Stilwell
July 6, 2015 — 10:00 AM EDT
Updated on July 6, 2015 — 10:40 AM EDT

Growth at U.S. service industries picked up in June from a more than one-year low, signaling steady improvement in the biggest part of the economy.

The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index increased to 56 from 55.7 the prior month, which was the weakest since April 2014, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said Monday. A gauge above 50 indicates expansion, and the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 56.4.

Sales and orders advanced last month for service providers such as retailers, restaurants and real estate firms that are enjoying a rebound a consumer spending. Further gains for these businesses that make up almost 90 percent of the economy are helping fuel an expansion beset by tepid capital investment and overseas markets.

“The trend certainly has been consistent with moderate growth in the overall economy -- not exactly booming but not weak either,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James Financial Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida, who correctly forecast the index. “We’re seeing consumers in general feeling better, going out and spending money. We’re optimistic that that’s going to continue.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-06/services-industries-in-u-s-expanded-at-a-faster-pace-in-june

[jtuck004]

1. If one is living in a cardboard box, is it worth finding a cheap plastic tarp to cover it from rain,

or should one try to keep another box nearby?

Seems like there are whole host of tips that might become newly relevant with this increase in shit jobs that can't support a single person, much less a family.

Enjoy it kids - we prefer paying bank$tre/donors to making a secure life for you and your neighbors.

What It Means to Be Middle Class Today
Middle class might be the new poor.

Being middle class isn't what it used to be. That isn't so surprising, of course. Everything changes. One hundred years ago, you were considered middle class if you made $577 a year, according to TheCostofLiving.com. Today, many people make that much in a week. At least, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median weekly earnings of full-time workers for the first quarter of 2014 were $796.
...
Country Financial, an insurance and financial services firm headquartered in Bloomington, Ill., released a survey of about 3,000 Americans last week. Known as the Country Financial Security Index, the survey has been measuring Americans' sentiments of their personal financial security since 2007. The survey suggests that most people (59 percent) believe it isn't possible or are no longer certain that it's possible to live a middle class existence and be considered financially secure.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition released a report last month stating that affordable rent is becoming harder to find for many households across the country. It found that a full-time worker needs to earn $18.92 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental without spending more than 30 percent of income toward rent. (Thirty percent is considered the most one should pay for housing, if you want to manage your money responsibly.)

The Pew Research Center found that the number of people who consider themselves middle class has fallen almost a fifth, from 53 percent in 2008 to 44 percent in January. Could that be good news? Maybe more people now consider themselves wealthy? Probably not – in February 2008, 25 percent of people referred to themselves as lower-middle class or poor; now that number is 40 percent.
...

[link:http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/04/24/what-it-means-to-be-middle-class-today|Here.

About 200 million Americans have found themselves poorer since this article came out last year. And the following generations are losing ground before they are even born.