Southridge Capital Notes Unemployment Benefits Claims Fell

Southridge Capital took note reading that unemployment benefits initial claims fell by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 456,000, according to the Labor Department. Southridge Capital is convinced small business will be vital in the recovery; hence we looked at beer sales in the United States and see how the recession affected the Alcohol Industry.

According to The Brewers Association small and independent craft brewers saw sales dollars increase 10.3 percent and volume increase 7.2 percent in 2009 vs. 2008. This bubbly news is fascinating because beer sales over all decreased in the USA 2.2% in 2009. Imports also fell more than 9% in 2009.

Equally interesting is that apparently during 2009, the number of U.S. craft brewers making beer increased from 1,485 to 1,542. According to Wikipedia, Beer accounts for 85% of the volume of alcoholic beverages sold in the United States each year.

By way of reference Craft Brewers are defined as those producing less than 2 million barrels. No surprise that one way that Americans were able to deal with the recession was to have a cold one at the new brewery “around the corner.”

Southridge Capital Cheered Auto Industry News

Southridge Capital cheered the great news from the Auto Industry last week. The first was General Motors repayment of the Federal Government loans of $5.8 billion ahead of schedule. Not only did the loans get repaid early, but the Federal Government made money.

Secondly, sticking with the auto industry, Chrysler reported an operating profit of $143 million, with sales increasing 3%, and market share increasing a full percentage point from 8.1% to 9.1%. So as mentioned in an early blog we felt (and still feel) the Auto Industry is helping us out of the recession.

Southridge Capital

Southridge Capital is a diversified financial holding company. Our subsidiary companies provide a wide range of products and services, including investment management, merchant banking and investment banking.

Please contact us with any questions and please check out all of our main blog.