Archive for May, 2008

U.S. Consumer Confidence Falls to 16-Year Low

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for May fell more than expected to 57.2 in Tuesday's report, led by a 5.5- point decline in the present situation component. The previous month's reading of 62.3 was revised upwards to 62.8. The three-month average for consumer confidence is now at 62.0, down from 68.4 ...

Former Fed Chairman Greenspan Says Chance Of Recession Still Above 50%

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said the chance of a recession in the United States was above 50% but that probability was pulling back somewhat. Read More Now

U.S. New Home Sales Rise 3.3% in April after March Revision

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

New home sales in April rose for the first time in five months, increasing 3.3% to 526k following a downward revision of the March reading to 509k. The previous month's reading was previously reported as 526k, which was the lowest level since October 1991. Economists had expected a reading of ...

Case-Shiller Home Price Index Tumbles Further in March and Q1

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

The S&P Case-Shiller home price index for Q1 continued to deteriorate with the 20-city composite index posting a record annual decline of 14.1%. In March, the index also declined by an annualized 14.4%. The Case-Shiller index has fallen every month since peaking in July 2006. "The steep downturn in residential real ...

Existing Home Sales Decline Further to 4.89 Million

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

CEP News) - U.S. existing home sales decreased to 4.89 million units in April following March's revised sales figure of 4.94 million. This is the second month that home sales have remained under the 5 million mark. The national median existing home price was... Read More Now

Friday’s Events: U.S. Existing Home Sales, Memorial Day Weekend

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

U.S. existing home sales, comments from Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, and the release of the National Bank of Belgium's business confidence index for May are the highlights of Friday's economic events as the United States prepares for the Memorial Day weekend with early closes in fixed income and equities. ...

Treasury’s Paulson Sees End in Sight for U.S. Credit Crunch

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

In an interview with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the U.S. has been in a rough patch but is coming closer to the end of the current credit crisis. Paulson was encouraged by thexxx Read More Now

Preview: April Existing Home Sales Expected to Decline to 4.85 Million

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

Existing home sales for April, which will be released Friday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), are expected to decline further to a pace of 4.85 million units following March's sales figure of 4.93 million. This would mark the second month that home sales have remained under the 5 ...

OFHEO U.S. Housing Price Index Posts Largest Quarterly Decline on Record

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

House prices fell 0.4% month-over-month in March following February's revised 0.4% gain, and declined 1.7% quarter-over- quarter in Q1 compared to a previous 0.1% gain, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) reported Thursday. The quarterly fall was the largest decline on record. The consensus had been looking for a 1.3% ...

Thursday’s Events: U.S. Jobless Claims

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the U.S. Labor Department will release initial and continuing jobless claims for the weeks ending May 17 and 10 respectively. Economists expect a rise of 373k following a 371k increase in the previous week. Continuing jobless claims are expected to rise to 3,065k from the previous ...