Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
The US Commerce Department announced today that durable goods (items which last 3 or more years) fell about 5.3% in January. These products (which include items such as appliances, expensive electronics, and home furnishings) are typically the first to feel the pinch in a recession.
Not good news for the stock market- especially given the gathering storm cloud of price inflation and credit liquidity problems which continue to plague the economy.
Tags: , Economic Indicators
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 0.4% growth, above market expectations for a 0.3% rise in prices.
I’m only reporting the overall CPI number here, as this includes both energy and food prices. The “core” CPI number excludes these items, but I believe this distorts the impact to consumers (hey, we all have to eat and most of us have to drive to get to work).
Housing Starts
Furthermore, housing starts came in slightly under expectations at 1,012 K for January vs. consensus estimates of 1,015 K. A thousand more, a thousand less - it doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that we are continuing to see a weak market for housing due to the collapse of the credit markets. Unfortunately, this will probably continue for some time.
Tags: Economic Indicators, stock market news
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Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Unfortunately, the US economy continues to look like it is on the verge of a recession. The US Commerce Department announced today that new home construction fell a staggering 25% in 2007 vs. the prior year. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen a dip that severe since the dark days of 1980 (when new construction fell 26%). With unemployment at around 5% in December and continued problems with credit liquidity, the stock market could be in for some serious pain moving forward.
Related Links:
New Residential Construction - Jan. 17th, 2008 Press Release
Tags: Economic Indicators, stock market
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