January is almost over. We’re 7.1% through 2007 already. Time feels to be moving very quickly for me.
Two opposing reports came out for December’s housing market. Orders for durable goods increased and an index of leading economic indicators inched up. The S&P 500 touched a six-year high on Wednesday but decreased 0.4% for the week to 1,422. The yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury note increased 11 basis points to 4.88%.
December’s new-home sales were up 4.8% (but still down 17.3% from December 2005).
December’s existing-home sales fell 0.8% from the previous month.
Inventory levels (both for new and existing homes) tightened in December from November’s levels.
December’s average new home price was $290,000; for an existing home it was $269,000.
December’s orders for manufactured durable goods increased 3.1% and were up 7.0% from last year.
The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators increased 0.3% in December. 6 out of 10 indicators were positive.
For six months through December, the index increased at an annualized rate of 0.3%.
In college I was fortunate enough to fly - and float - on NASA’s “Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunity Program” (R.G.S.F.O.P. for …short). Basically you get in an airplane and climb and dive from 24,000 to 34,000 feet. The peaks of this roller coaster ride create weightlessness… watch the video for an explanation and more.
Yes, this is a little off topic from my usual investing podcast. But isn’t this NASA program awesome? We showed this video to several hundred students in elementary and high schools. I think inspiring students to study hard, technical topics is a wonderful thing for any country’s educational system.
-JAW
I’ve been wanting to upload this for a year now, and I finally got to it. If you like what you see.. leave me a comment. I’ll post more videos. (-; And thanks to NASA, ourmany, many, many, sponsors, as well as Professor Tan!
Here’s the latest Economic Week in Review podcast. Inflation was not too bad in 2006. Thanks for listening.
The PPI rose only 1.1% in 2006. Compare this to 5.4% for 2005 and 4.2% for 2004
The CPI rose 2.5% in 2006, compare to 3.3% and 3.4% in ‘04 and ‘05
Industrial production grew 0.4% in December, after 3 months of declines
The Fed’s Beige Book indicated modest expansion, price gains, and a tightening labor market.
December’s new-home residential grew for the second month in a row, 4.5% - more than expected. However, the growth is in multiunit residences, as the single-family homes actually declined for the month. Compared with December 2005, residential housing starts were down 18%.
Listen live now, click below to play the 7 minute podcast.
After an extended absence I have returned! What happened last week on the economics front? Oh, funny you should ask, I’ve got just the answer! We had mixed economic news:
November saw a $12.3 billion increase in U.S. consumer credit (largest since Aug. 2006)
December retail sales were unexpectedly strong, increasing 0.9%
Manufacturers and wholesalers saw business inventories increase 0.4% overall
The U.S. trade deficit shrank 1.0% in November to $58.2 billion
I caught this on my way to work recently. Did you know street sweepers had an internal trash bucket that they can pop out and dump into a dumpster? A real life Transformer.
I don’t know much about the street sweeper market, but I suspect it is smaller than the front end loader market. In fact, I’d venture to guess that some street sweepers are based on another piece of heavy equipment’s chassis.
Anyone know about this? Does some heavy equipment (like street sweepers and loaders) fall on the same product line? Leave me a comment.
