Economy/Ecommerce
Economy Watch: Housing Starts Gain Ground in April
The Census Bureau reported that private housing starts came in at an annualized rate of 1.072 million units in April, a sizable 13.2 percent upswing from March, when starts were an annualized 947,000 units.
Economy Watch: Homebuilders Confidence a Little Rattled
The National Association of Homebuilders reported that builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes weakened a bit in May.
Economy Watch: FHFA Not Focusing on GSE Wind Down
The new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Melvin L. Watt, used his first major speech at the Brookings Institution to emphasize a change in focus for his agency, which is the conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, currently the linchpins of the nation’s residential property finance.
Economy Watch: Retail Sales Eke Out Small April Gain
Retail sales barely budged in April compared with March, according to the Census Bureau.
‘Economy Watch’ Podcast with Dees Stribling: The Economy is Crawling Back
The economy is still crawling back to its previous health.
Economy Watch: Federal Deficit Continues to Drop
The federal government’s budget deficit dropped sharply in the first seven months of fiscal 2014 (beginning Oct. 1, 2013), according to a report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Economy Watch: Americans Remain Pessimistic About Economy
The Pew Research Center reported that despite falling unemployment and various other improving economic metrics, a recent survey of Americans found that most people are still relatively pessimistic about the state of the U.S. economy, a belief that tends to depress consumer activity.
Economy Watch: Seniors Housing Builders More Optimistic
The state of the housing market’s been getting some worried attention lately but the National Association of Home Builders offered a small but hopeful note.
Economy Watch: More Purchase Mortgages Than Refi, First Time in Years
The Mortgage Bankers Association reports the rate of U.S. mortgage applications each week, and it goes up and down according to the vagaries of the economy and interest rates.
Economy Watch: Investment in Real Estate Still Lags
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the real estate-related components of the government’s latest estimate for U.S. GDP growth.