The Economic Week In Review

29. March 2008 by Ana Connell.

The Economic Week in Review:

• Existing Home Sales rose 2.9% in February, housing supply is sitting at 9.6 months nationally.
• The Case Shiller Index came out with LA County down 16.5%.
• Consumer Confidence continued it’s downward spiral to lowest level since 2003
• New Home Sales were down 1.8% to a 13 year low.
• Durable Goods dropped for second month in a row, giving credence to the fact that we are already in a recession.
• Jobless Claims were improved.
• Personal Income and Outlays rose more than expected, but they cite technical reasons for this, such as Medicare Part D payments and government assistance that were given out.
• Consumer Sentiment showed slight weakness, not enough to upset the markets.
• Markets ended the week down 1.2% at 12216.40. Of the 30 Dow components, 22 posted losses.
• Bonds…2 year 1.69%, 5 yr. 2.54% and the 10 yr. 3.48%.

We’re starting to see some negative reaction from last week’s Fed’s bailout move as more and more people want consumers to benefit from the handout, not just corporations and banks. It’s apparent at this point in the game that the benefits are not yet trickling down the pipeline to the average consumer as evidenced by the tight monetary lending policies of most institutions.

Pew Research came out with their poll data and the top ranking concern for everyone as a whole was increasing prices or inflation. This should be a wake up call for our politicians and academics that in order to stimulate the economy pricing concerns will need to be addressed.

The Economic Week Ahead:

• NAPM Chicago Index  (Monday)

• Motor Vehicle Sales, Construction Spending,ISM Manufacturing Index  (Tuesday)

• Challenger Job Cut Report, Factory Orders  (Wednesday)

• Monster Employment Index, Jobless Claims  (Thursday)

• Employment Situation(non-farm payrolls)  (Friday)

Have a great weekend!

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