The Mark Lund Growth Report

HOME SALES IMPROVE, PERMITS HIT 6-YEAR PEAK Last month saw a 1.5% gain in existing home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. That took the annualized increase in home buying to 2.5%. NAR measured the inventory of unsold homes at 5.1 months in October; compare that with 11.9 months in July 2010. Census […]

RETAIL SALES REBOUND FROM SEPTEMBER SLUMP The 0.3% October gain announced by the Commerce Department exactly offset the September decline. Below the headline number, core retail sales (minus auto buying) also rose 0.3% last month. Sales increased in 11 of 13 categories; online retailers saw a 1.9% boost to lead the pack. Annually, overall retail

Q3 GDP IMPRESSES, PERSONAL SPENDING DECLINES Good news: America’s economy expanded 3.5% in the third quarter. The Commerce Department’s initial estimate topped the 3.1% consensus forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch, and offset September retreats in overall hard goods orders (1.3%) and personal spending (0.2%). Personal incomes rose 0.2% last month, the least since December;

GAINS IN NEW & EXISTING HOME SALES According to the National Association of Realtors, the pace of resales improved 2.4% in September. NAR reported fewer sales of distressed properties and more home sales to families versus investors. The Census Bureau measured only a 0.2% rise in new home buying last month, but a 17.0% annualized

WHEN WILL THE MARKET CALM DOWN? Earnings didn’t preoccupy investors last week; Europe did. The International Monetary Fund warned that the euro area could enter another recession; European Central Bank president Mario Draghi urged EU member nations to go in for quantitative easing, but German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble disagreed. IMF and Federal Reserve officials

JOBLESS RATE DECLINES TO 5.9% Unemployment lessened another 0.2% in September as firms added 248,000 new workers to their payrolls. The nation hasn’t seen joblessness of less than 6% since July 2008. In presenting its latest report, the Labor Department also revised summer hiring totals: the August job gain went from 142,000 to 180,000, and

NEW HOME SALES JUMP, RESALES DIP Existing home sales slumped 1.8% in August – their first retreat since March, according to the National Association of Realtors. This followed gains of 2% or more in each of the previous three months. News about new home purchases was better: the Census Bureau recorded an 18.0% increase for

INFLATION TOOK A HOLIDAY IN AUGUST Consumer prices fell 0.2% last month while producer prices stayed flat. Wall Street didn’t mind the dip in the Consumer Price Index – it saw less impetus for the Federal Reserve to alter its stance on interest rates. In its latest policy statement, the Fed reiterated its intent to

SUMMER SPENDING SPREE LIFTS RETAIL SALES They increased 0.6% in August, easing some anxieties about a possible slowdown in personal spending. Core retail sales (which exclude auto, gas, food, and home improvement purchases and more closely match the consumer spending aspect of GDP) improved 0.4% last month, and were up 4.1% year-over-year. The Commerce Department

WALL STREET TAKES JOBS DATA IN STRIDE In August, a notable hiring streak ended: for the first time since January, the economy failed to create 200,000 new jobs during a month. Investors were disappointed by the news from the Labor Department, but it came with a silver lining: the moderation in job gains may give