The United States’ economy grew slower than previously thought, said the Commerce Department on Friday. The advance estimate of the real gross domestic product – the overall measure of economic output of the United States – was 3.2 percent. The economy actually increased at a lower rate, 2.8 percent, said the Commerce Department. Businesses were [...]
Archive | February, 2011
Declining home prices offset rise in sales
Existing home sales increased last month, but declining prices and a high percentage of distressed sales indicate that the housing market faces a long road to recovery. The National Association of Realtors reported Feb. 23 that existing home sales increased 2.7 percent from December 2010 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million. That [...]
Changes in Building Permit Codes Affected LEI Numbers
The number for January’s Index of Leading Economic Indicator (LEI) came out yesterday and they show that the U.S. is still increasing by 0.1 percent. For some this may look like bad news since the number was a decrease and much lower than those that came out in the last two months. However, those high [...]
Consumers Feel the Pinch as Economists Breath Sigh of Relief
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported early Thursday morning that the consumer price index rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent in February, the second straight month of growth. The index came in at a higher than projected 0.3 percent made by many economists across the U.S., according to Bloomberg.
Retail Sales Slip Following Holiday Season
Retail sales fell in January, as a slow job market and rising gas prices kept consumers out of stores following the holiday season. The advanced estimates for the United States retail and food service sales for January were $381.6 billion, an increase of 0.3 percent from the previous month, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures [...]
Jump in Producer Prices Raises Inflation Questions
Wholesale prices increased by 0.8 percent in January, exceeding some forecasters’ predictions. But economists said it’s too soon to sound the alarm on rising inflation, mostly because the overall economic recovery still remains weak. The increase marks the seventh consecutive rise, following a 0.9 percent advance in December and a 0.7 percent advance in November, [...]
U.S. Trade Deficit Widened in December
The U.S. trade deficit widened by 6 percent in December, adding up to a record-high annual trade gap with China. The trade gap with China lessened by 19.1 percent in December to $20.7 billion. But the total annual deficit last year added up to the largest deficit the U.S. ever had with any single country, [...]
New Jobless Claims Drop Below 400,000
Initial jobless claims fell last week to the lowest level since July 2008. In the week that ended on February 5th, new applications for unemployment insurance totaled 383,000, a decrease of 36,000 from the previous week’s 419,000, according to the Department of Labor. This drop in claims far exceeded expectations of most analysts who expected [...]
