April 2013 U.S. Economic Fundamentals
- Thread starter Ally
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U.S. consumer spending, income make biggest gains in five months
Consumers earned more and spent more in February, helped by a stronger job market that is offsetting some of the drag from higher taxes.
The Commerce Department said Friday that consumer spending rose 0.7 per cent in February from January. It was the biggest gain in five months and followed a revised 0.4 per cent rise in January, which was double the initial estimate.
Read the full article here.
Consumers earned more and spent more in February, helped by a stronger job market that is offsetting some of the drag from higher taxes.
The Commerce Department said Friday that consumer spending rose 0.7 per cent in February from January. It was the biggest gain in five months and followed a revised 0.4 per cent rise in January, which was double the initial estimate.
Read the full article here.
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More than 300,000 homes foreclosed in the U.S.
A national survey found 301,874 "zombie" properties dotting the U.S. landscape in which homeowners in foreclosure have moved out, leaving vacant property susceptible to vandalism and degradation.
Florida tops the list of zombie properties with 90,556 vacant homes in foreclosure, according to a foreclosure inventory released on Thursday by RealtyTrac, a real estate information company in Irvine, California.
Read the full article here.
A national survey found 301,874 "zombie" properties dotting the U.S. landscape in which homeowners in foreclosure have moved out, leaving vacant property susceptible to vandalism and degradation.
Florida tops the list of zombie properties with 90,556 vacant homes in foreclosure, according to a foreclosure inventory released on Thursday by RealtyTrac, a real estate information company in Irvine, California.
Read the full article here.
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Boomerang buyers bring muscle to rebounding housing market
Four years ago, Dave Peterson was in the worst financial crisis of his life. He was in foreclosure, had declared bankruptcy and was struggling to find a place to rent in Las Vegas because of his terrible credit.
But last year he and his wife, Gabby, bought a $280,000 home that's bigger than the one they lost.
Read the full article here.
Four years ago, Dave Peterson was in the worst financial crisis of his life. He was in foreclosure, had declared bankruptcy and was struggling to find a place to rent in Las Vegas because of his terrible credit.
But last year he and his wife, Gabby, bought a $280,000 home that's bigger than the one they lost.
Read the full article here.
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Discouraged Americans leave labour force
Baebler just gave up.
She'd already abandoned hope of getting work in her field, working with the disabled. But she couldn't land anything else, either ` not even a job interview at a telephone call center.
Until she feels confident enough to send out resumes again, she'll get by on food stamps and disability checks from Social Security and live with her parents in St. Louis.
Read the full article here.
Baebler just gave up.
She'd already abandoned hope of getting work in her field, working with the disabled. But she couldn't land anything else, either ` not even a job interview at a telephone call center.
Until she feels confident enough to send out resumes again, she'll get by on food stamps and disability checks from Social Security and live with her parents in St. Louis.
Read the full article here.
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Labour force participation rate falls to lowest level since 1979
Today's nonfarm payrolls number was well below expectations. It came in at 88,000 versus the 190,000 predicted by market economists.
Yet the unemployment rate still ticked down to 7.6 percent from 7.7 percent last month.
The explanation: the labor force participation rate fell to 63.3 percent, its lowest level since 1979.
Read the full article here.
Today's nonfarm payrolls number was well below expectations. It came in at 88,000 versus the 190,000 predicted by market economists.
Yet the unemployment rate still ticked down to 7.6 percent from 7.7 percent last month.
The explanation: the labor force participation rate fell to 63.3 percent, its lowest level since 1979.
Read the full article here.
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Job growth slows to a trickle
Employers added fewer jobs in March than in any month in almost a year, a dark cloud after several months of slowly improving conditions in labor markets.
Just 88,000 jobs were created last month, far below February's 268,000 gain. The unemployment rate, derived from a separate survey, dropped to a four-year low of 7.6%. But the decline was prompted by nearly a half-million workers leaving the job market, not job growth.
Read the full article here.
Employers added fewer jobs in March than in any month in almost a year, a dark cloud after several months of slowly improving conditions in labor markets.
Just 88,000 jobs were created last month, far below February's 268,000 gain. The unemployment rate, derived from a separate survey, dropped to a four-year low of 7.6%. But the decline was prompted by nearly a half-million workers leaving the job market, not job growth.
Read the full article here.
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Canadians still buying plenty of Florida real estate
Canadians` unrelenting passion for sun and sand has helped drive a 12 per cent increase in Florida real estate over the last two years, according to a BMO report.
More than 500,000 Canadians now own property in what was one of the hardest-hit U.S. states in the 2008 housing meltdown. And snowbirds remain the biggest foreign purchasers of Florida real estate despite a surge in interest from Asian and South American buyers over the last year or so.
Read the full article here.
Canadians` unrelenting passion for sun and sand has helped drive a 12 per cent increase in Florida real estate over the last two years, according to a BMO report.
More than 500,000 Canadians now own property in what was one of the hardest-hit U.S. states in the 2008 housing meltdown. And snowbirds remain the biggest foreign purchasers of Florida real estate despite a surge in interest from Asian and South American buyers over the last year or so.
Read the full article here.
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Texas' new energy boom is so huge, you can see it from space
Texas has seen incredible changes in oil production because of advancements in shale technology. From one 200-mile view at night, you can easily spot the urban areas of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, but the strip just south of the Alamo City and U.S. Global Investors` headquarters illuminates something else entirely: the bright lights of big oil generated by the Eagle Ford shale formation.
Read the full article here.
Texas has seen incredible changes in oil production because of advancements in shale technology. From one 200-mile view at night, you can easily spot the urban areas of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, but the strip just south of the Alamo City and U.S. Global Investors` headquarters illuminates something else entirely: the bright lights of big oil generated by the Eagle Ford shale formation.
Read the full article here.
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Canadians play big role in Florida market rebound
According to a report by BMO Financial Group, Florida`s housing market is on the rebound and Canadian snowbirds are playing an important role in its recovery.
`Beyond the obvious attraction of great weather and beautiful beaches, there are two factors that make Florida real estate an especially good value for Canadians,` says Jack Ablin, BMO`s chief investment officer. `The first is that` the median priced home in Florida is nearly half than that in Canada. At the same time, the Canadian dollar is trading nearly 10 percent above `fair` value versus the U.S. dollar, arming snowbird shoppers with extra buying power.`
Read the full article here.
According to a report by BMO Financial Group, Florida`s housing market is on the rebound and Canadian snowbirds are playing an important role in its recovery.
`Beyond the obvious attraction of great weather and beautiful beaches, there are two factors that make Florida real estate an especially good value for Canadians,` says Jack Ablin, BMO`s chief investment officer. `The first is that` the median priced home in Florida is nearly half than that in Canada. At the same time, the Canadian dollar is trading nearly 10 percent above `fair` value versus the U.S. dollar, arming snowbird shoppers with extra buying power.`
Read the full article here.
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U.S. unemployment falls, but hiring still lags
Investors were cheered by recent news that weekly claims for unemployment benefits fell to 339,000, a surprisingly large drop of 16,000 from the week before. Economists had been expecting about 350,000 jobless claims. The number of people applying for unemployment insurance has now fallen to the levels of early 2008, when hardly anybody knew a brutal recession was brewing.
The lower number means fewer people are getting laid off, probably because many companies have cut as much as they can and conditions aren't dire enough to cut more. But it may still be a while before fewer layoffs transitions to a big uptick in hiring.
Read the full article here.
Investors were cheered by recent news that weekly claims for unemployment benefits fell to 339,000, a surprisingly large drop of 16,000 from the week before. Economists had been expecting about 350,000 jobless claims. The number of people applying for unemployment insurance has now fallen to the levels of early 2008, when hardly anybody knew a brutal recession was brewing.
The lower number means fewer people are getting laid off, probably because many companies have cut as much as they can and conditions aren't dire enough to cut more. But it may still be a while before fewer layoffs transitions to a big uptick in hiring.
Read the full article here.
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U.S. lumber prices soar 60% year-over-year
Lumber production in the US and Canada improved during 2012, with total output in 2012 being eight per cent and five per cent higher, respectively, than in 2011, according to WWPA. Sawmills in the Western region have been more fortunate than mills in other regions in North America since they have been able to ship lumber both to markets in the US and to Asia.
The US housing market is continuing to improve, with higher house prices, lower inventories and limited sales of foreclosure homes (increasingly turned into rental properties). These developments have resulted in an increased number of housing starts and higher demand for lumber. Canadian sawmills, which export a majority of their lumber to the US, have been ramping up production during 2012 to meet the higher demand for lumber. This has been particularly true for sawmills in the Eastern provinces, where production in the 4Q/12 was up 16 per cent year-over-year.
Read the full article here.
Lumber production in the US and Canada improved during 2012, with total output in 2012 being eight per cent and five per cent higher, respectively, than in 2011, according to WWPA. Sawmills in the Western region have been more fortunate than mills in other regions in North America since they have been able to ship lumber both to markets in the US and to Asia.
The US housing market is continuing to improve, with higher house prices, lower inventories and limited sales of foreclosure homes (increasingly turned into rental properties). These developments have resulted in an increased number of housing starts and higher demand for lumber. Canadian sawmills, which export a majority of their lumber to the US, have been ramping up production during 2012 to meet the higher demand for lumber. This has been particularly true for sawmills in the Eastern provinces, where production in the 4Q/12 was up 16 per cent year-over-year.
Read the full article here.