July 2011 U.S. Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

How Bank of America is handling its foreclosure glut




Bank of America Corp., faced with a glut of foreclosed and abandoned houses it can`t sell, has a new tool

to get rid of the most decrepit ones: a bulldozer.




The biggest U.S. mortgage servicer will donate 100 foreclosed houses in the Cleveland area and in some cases contribute to their demolition in partnership with a local agency that manages blighted property. The bank has similar plans in Detroit and Chicago, with more cities to come, and Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Fannie Mae are conducting or considering their own programs.




Disposing of repossessed homes is one of the biggest headaches for lenders in the U.S., where 1,679,125 houses, or one in every 77, were in some stage of foreclosure as of June, according to research firm RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, California. The prospect of those properties flooding the market has depressed prices and driven off buyers concerned that housing values will keep dropping.





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[Ally]

U.S. consumer confidence ticks higher




US consumers have regained a bit of confidence this month despite a weak economy and a political stalemate in Washington over raising the US debt ceiling, data showed Tuesday.




The Conference Board said its July consumer confidence index rose to 59.5, 1.9 points higher than in June.




The rise, after two straight months of falling confidence, took analysts by surprise. The average estimate was for the index to drop to 56.0.




Most of the July increase was led by the expectations index that measures consumers' outlook for the next six months.





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[Ally]

A visualization of the U.S. debt





A series of pictures showing how the U.S. debt situation has gotten out of control.





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[Ally]

U.S. jobless claims 3-month low, pending home sales up




The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits hit a three-month low last week and contracts to buy existing homes rose in June, hopeful signs for the economy which has struggled to regain momentum.




Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 398,000, the Labour Department said on Thursday, well below economists' expectations for a fall to 415,000.




A separate report from the National Association of Realtors showed pending home sales rose 2.4 percent, increasing for a second month. Actual sales usually follow a contract after a month or two.




The reports offered some relief after recent weak data and deadlocked talks to raise the nation's borrowing limit and avoid a damaging debt default and credit rating downgrade.





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