The Radford Free Press – Page 231 – All life is problem solving.

Economics / business investment, demand, durable goods, economic policy, GDP, government spending, growth, job creation, trade, unemployment /

Here We Go A-Wallowing

September 27, 2012

This is what floundering looks like. Well, perhaps I am being a bit harsh. After all we had a couple of good reports earlier this week, and today’s news on new claims for unemployment assistance is fairly decent. But the final revision of second quarter GDP and the durable goods data confirm that the economy […]

Economics / Conference Board, consumer confidence, GDP, growth, Obama /

Consumer Confidence Rises Sharply

September 25, 2012

Let’s not get excited, but this morning’s Conference Board report on consumer confidence is quite surprising. The index jumped from a revised 61.3 in August to 70.3 in September, beating expectations and, perhaps, altering the outlook for growth. This is the highest reading for seven months and suggests that the summer’s downswing is well past. […]

Economics / Case-Shiller Index, home prices /

Home Prices Keep Rising

September 25, 2012

A quick note: US home prices, as measured by the Case-Shiller index, rose again in July – the latest month for which there are figures. The increase, an annualized rate of 1.6%, was sufficient to push the year-on-year gain to 1.2%, and was the fourth month in a row of increase. More good news was […]