"No man can become rich without himself enriching others"
Andrew Carnegie



Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Special Report


MarketBeat

Housing Data Still Awful


AP
Housing data continue to be the site of more disappointment than Wrigley Field.
The Commerce Department reports that new housing starts tumbled 10.6% in April to an annualized pace of 523,000, well below the 569,000 or so economists expected. Yikes.
A more forward-looking indicator, permits for new construction, fell 4%, worse than expected.
But, hey, look on the bright side! March starts were revised sharply higher, to a 585,000 pace from 549,000.
OK, no, that doesn’t help. As BMO economist Jennifer Lee put it: “Ugh,” adding that the revision “doesn’t begin to change the gloomy tone of this report.”
As a homeowner, I can’t say I’m too sorry to see less housing supply hitting the market. But that’s selfish; this is bad news for homebuilders and not good for the economy.
The news set back stock futures and commodities. Bonds are loving it: The 10-year note yield’s down to 3.14%.

No comments:

Post a Comment