Posted on 03/04/2010 10:37:54 AM PST by frogjerk
Early stock gains ebb after surprise drop in home sales; Retail sales, factory orders climb
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks clung to a tight range Thursday after an unexpected drop in pending home sales raised new concern about the economy.
Major indexes were little changed in afternoon trading following the National Association of Realtors' report that its index of home sales agreements fell 7.6 percent in January from December. Contracts fell to the lowest level since April.
The drop in the number of buyers of previously occupied homes dampened some of the enthusiasm about better retail sales numbers. Macy's Inc., Limited Brands Inc. and The Wet Seal Inc. all posted monthly sales that topped analysts' expectations. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raised its dividend 11 percent.
--snip--
The drop in home sales brought back concerns about the economy after a stronger report on jobless benefits claims had raised hopes about the Labor Department's monthly payroll report due out Friday.
Initial jobless claims dipped last week after two straight weeks of unexpected increases, the Labor Department reported. New claims fell to 469,000, better than the 470,000 economists had forecast.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
1000 less laid off...HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!!!!
please put (unexpected) in the title
Not faltering anymore.
OUCH!
unexpected !
Everyone DRINK!
...did you see the “unexpected” look on his face?
Just wait until the home buyer credit expires and unemployment continues to rise....
This was unexpected? I expected it. I am expecting every bit of economic news. The numbers are all made up anyway; even this bit of data is fudged. So what’s not to expect?
One thing I find interesting is that the home buyer credit is not factored into real estate prices. I remember a couple of months ago there was some report regarding real estate prices actually climbing slightly.
My thought when I read that was that unless it was more than the $8,000 (averaged of course) the government was paying people to buy real estate, it was not an increase.
Heck, I bought a farm for $98k and the government gave me $8k to do it. :)
Anyway, be very meticulous and do research into what you need to document in order to get that credit. I have been reading HORROR stories about dealing with the IRS to get your refund. HORROR stories. Dot all your I's, cross all your T's, and make sure you have all the recipts, utility bills, closing documents, and federal form. Keep copies of the entire package you submit. Some people have waited more than a year and re-submitted the documentation several times and still have no refund.
Good luck!
I had gotten an extension of paying my 2008 taxes. I was actually able to claim it even though I bought in 2009. No joke.
I cashed the check months ago. :)
You must have gotten yours in before they clamped down on the whole process due to fraud. It is a nightmare now to get your money.
Yeah. To be honest, this whole purchase has been full of what everyone involved as been calling “God things”. That is, everything just seems to fall into place. The whole thing was and has been kinda weird. The next step is to be able to telecommute.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.