The Economic News Is Both Good And Bad
New home sales did better than expected in March.
But they still fell by 0.6% last month.
Median home-sale prices in March were around $7,000 higher than in February.
But they are still far lower than they were a year ago.
Some banks have started returning bailout money amid reports of better than expected profits in the first quarter of 2009, and the stock market has rebounded since early March.
But, the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average is still at around 60% of what is was a year ago.
Consumer confidence is rising, and consumer spending rose 2.2% in the first quarter which is the most in two years.
But businesses cut spending on equipment and software by 33.8% in the first quarter.
The administration claims that 2,000 new transportation projects have already been approved under the stimulus package.
But the construction sector lost 626,000 jobs between December 2008 and March 2009.
And whilst we’d truly love to believe that the economic crisis has bottomed out, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) estimates that the global economy will contract by 1.3% in 2009 and the U.S. economy by 2.8% which would be the most since 1946.
Last 10 posts by Michael Redbourn
- Israel Gets Green light To Build In East Jerusalem - March 13th, 2010
- Does Obama's $8.6 Trillion Deficit Worry You? - March 11th, 2010
- The End Of Many Democracies Is Near - March 9th, 2010
- Not Only Is Israel Not An Apartheid State - March 4th, 2010
- The Dubai Liquidation - February 27th, 2010
- The Fiscal Stimulus Package Of 2009 Was A Failure - February 23rd, 2010
- Liberals Turn A Blind-Eye To Reality - February 17th, 2010
- Are You Being Tracked? - February 14th, 2010
- Australia's Kevin Rudd Gets It Right! - February 11th, 2010
- How Many Personal Assistants Does Michelle Obama Have? - February 9th, 2010
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