Click on graph for larger image in new window. Total housing starts were at 529 thousand (SAAR) in October, down 10.6% from the revised September rate, and up from the all time record low in April of 479 thousand (the lowest level since the Census Bureau began tracking housing starts in ... Read more

G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USD GBP 0.63 JPY 0.22 EUR 0.15 CHF 0.14 Currency markets have been stuck in relatively tight ranges for most of the day as strong equity market performances across Europe and the US negated slightly disappointing economic data releases. ... Read the full po ... Read more

The Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales report from the Census Bureau today showed inventories are still declining. The Census Bureau reported: Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1, ... Read more

This is an update to an earlier post . As I've noted for some time, housing leads the economy and is the best leading indicator for the economy - both into and out of recessions. Employment lags the economy, and the following graph shows the relationship between starts and unemployment. ... Rea ... Read more

The Census Bureau reports : The ... total September exports of $132.0 billion and imports of $168.4 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $36.5 billion, up from $30.8 billion in August, revised. September exports were $3.7 billion more than August exports of $128.3 billion. September ... Read more

From HotelNewsNow.com: Boston leads RevPAR gains in STR weekly numbers Overall, in year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 3.6 percent to 54.8 percent, average daily rate dropped 8.5 percent US$97.19, and RevPAR decreased 11.8 percent to US$53.29. Click on graph for large ... Read more

Just because the government crunched numbers and the result came out positive means we are all better off? None of the 15.7 million unemployed Americans is thinking the recession (Great or otherwise) is over. ... Read the full post ... Read more

ADP reports : Nonfarm private employment decreased 203,000 from September to October 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment Report®. The estimated change of employment from August to September was revised by 27,000, from a decline of 254,000 to a decline of ... Read more

From HotelNewsNow.com: Hotel Industry Pulse stalls Economic research firm e-forecasting.com in conjunction with Smith Travel Research announced the HIP hit a snag in its recovery. After going up two months in a row, HIP declined 2.1 percent in September. HIP, the Hotel Industry's Pulse index, is a ... Read more