Posted on 11/18/2009 6:41:23 AM PST by blam
US STOCKS-Wall St Set To Slip At Open On (Unexpected) Housing Data
Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:06am EST
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set to open lower on Wednesday after data showed U.S. housing starts fell unexpectedly in October, offsetting strength in the natural resources sectors amid U.S. dollar weakness.
Housing starts dropped to their lowest level in six months, weighed down by a sharp decline in construction activity for both single-family and multi-family dwellings, the government reported. For details, see [ID:nN1738618]
The data was the latest setback for investors eager for definitive signs that a recovery was gaining strength to justify loftier stock valuations, with indexes at 13-month highs.
"The housing starts look bad, and it's
[snip]
The DJIA is down 32 as I post this. See here.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
So should be get our 401Ks out of stock and into bonds?
This was NOT unexpected.
They still haven't got all the corn in the Corn Belt harvested ~ it's standing there in the fields waiting on a good freeze to "dry things out".
What a bunch of morons. If they didn't see this coming, they need thicker classes, or a janitorial position.
Did anybody bother to take a look at the Weather we had in October? Construction is heavily influenced by inclement weather and the change from Septemeber to October was significant. How in the world could they expect anything but a decline? It will decline further as we move into the colder and wetter months.
NOBODY expects the INQUISITION!
These folks simply couldn’t expect to find their butts with both hands.
I agree with you. I think weather played a big role in these numbers. They seasonally adjust them, but October was far wetter than normal, nationally.
The $8,000 tax credit expired.
He still hasn’t figured out that managed economies don’t work in the long run.
They do seasonally adjust them, in other words they pump up the winter numbers by a factor, and lower the summer numbers by the identical factor so the annual total reflects reality. But they still assume a normal October, and we didn’t have a normal October weather-wise.
Incidentally, I don’t know about everywhere, but in Tennessee, the first have of November was warm and dry, so maybe next month it would be worth looking into whether the number will pop higher again.
You are mistaken. The eight thousand dollar tax credit for first time home buyers was extended through April, and there are also some types of tax credits for individuals who have owned homes a certain number of years. I’m not current with any of the details, but I do know that this program was extended into next Spring.
Numbers are always seasonally adjusted.
Unfortunately, no one is current with the details.
Lol, you have an excellent point, Carley!
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