Economic Data for Thursday, March 2, 2000
Weekly Jobless Claims = +6k to 275k
dol.gov
In the week ending Feb. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 275,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 269,000. The 4-week moving average was 284,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 284,250.
LEI for Jan. = +0.3%
tcb-indicators.org
The leading index increased 0.3 percent, the coincident index increased 0.4 percent, and the lagging index decreased 0.2 percent in January. Taken together, the three composite indexes and their components show a strong economy:
-The coincident indicators show that the economy continued to expand through the first month of the year. With the release of January data, the economy has tied the expansion of the 1960's as the longest expansion in U.S. history.
-The leading indicators point to a continuation of the expansion during 2000.
-The lagging index shows that cyclical imbalances were not a problem in January.
New Home Sales for Jan. = -4.2% at 882k units
census.gov
Sales of new one-family houses in January 2000 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 882,000 according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 4 (+/-9) percent below the revised December rate of 921,000 and 4 (+/-10) percent below the revised January 1999 rate of 918,000. |
