The January 18 – 22 business week will begin one day late, due to Martin Luther King Jr holiday, leaving only Tuesday to Friday for market action to be staged. The most notable economic data releases will be the Housing Market Index (HMI) and Housing Starts numbers; while Treasury International Capital data, the Producer's Price
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Inevitably even the grizzlies have been watching economic indicators gaging the housing market “recovery”, as talk of a 2009 rebound in the United States has now been confirmed by 3.5% growth in the third quarter. Existing home sales bottoming, construction spending pulsing and extreme incentives for new buyers have sweetened the potential for a repeat of the 2004 housing recovery we all loved so well. Yet there remains the issue of magnitude, regarding a potential housing recovery, which may contrast that of 2004 a great deal, and could kill the lasting effects of a bottomed housing market on the broader economy. We will attempt to review and assess the American economy by result of the Housing Market from a historical and quantitative standpoint.

The May Consumer Confidence report released Tuesday morning created powerful support to consumer discretionary stocks and lifted the share values of U.S. companies across the board, allowing the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) to close higher by nearly 200 points (almost 2.5%). The Consumer Confidence Index increased from 43.0 to 54.9, marking the first time
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Tuesday morning market moves were difficult to swallow for objective traders who witnessed poor indications from the Goldman ISCG store sales and housing starts data. The Goldman report indicated sales during the May 16 ended week were down 1.2% from the prior week and -0.3% off comparable sales last year. Similarly dire were April's annualized
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No one seemed to questioning the vicious buying of Bank of America (BAC) and Citi Group (C) on a Wednesday where stress test leaks suggested the two banks will need an additional $35 billion and $50 billion of common equity. Does the transparency of major U.S. banks' financial needs warrant the KBW Banking Index's gain
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U.S. equity markets ended only slightly lower on Tuesday as early morning economic data started off the day with a spurt of confidence. The ISM Non-Manufacturing report gauged Chicago area service related industries deteriorating at a lower rate than previous months in April. The report clocked in at 43.7, above the markets estimate of 42.2
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Taking note of the information at hand Monday yields little new information for the economy on a day that had been scheduled as the release of TARP stress test results by regulators. Instead the S&P 500 and equity markets are trading higher on lower than average volume due to an unexpected jolt in pending home
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Economic indicators released Friday morning cited less rapid deterioration in the manufacturing sector, more optimistic consumer sentiment, and lower factory orders. The first released Reuter's/University of Michigan Sentiment report inspired U.S. equity futures higher before diving into the red after the manufacturing numbers and news from the government was released. The lack of confidence in
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Thursday may have marked the end to a furious rally by speculative investors and traders as U.S. equity valuations have moved higher contrary to deteriorating economic conditions. Continuing jobless benefits have risen to new record levels as 630,000 more Americans filed new jobless claims in the previous week. Income and outlays decreased more than expected
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While the Swine Flu "epidemic" has stimulated substantial buzz among global equity markets, the lasting effects of the virus on the consumer are limited. The virus is serious and deserves appropriate responses by the WHO and individual nations but has only killed individuals in nations where timely detection and health care response is limited. Cases
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