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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (51754)	5/20/2002 11:03:20 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

Reuters Business Report Key Indicator of Economic Activity Falls WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key indicator of U.S. economic activity fell in April for the first time since last September, signaling slow economic recovery, a private research firm said on Monday. The Conference Board said the U.S. index of leading economic indicators fell 0.4 percent in April -- the first decline since a 0.6 percent drop in September 2001 -- after rising 0.1 percent in March. April's decrease exceeded the expectations of Wall Street economists, who had forecast a more modest 0.2 percent drop. "The signal from the indicators is that the recovery is developing quite slowly," Ken Goldstein, the board's chief economist, said in a statement. "Despite the strong growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter, the recovery in the industrial core remains weak," he said. "Only consumption is fueling the recovery. But with (mortgage) refinancing over and energy costs rising, there could be some intermittent softness in household buying," he said. "The real problem is that neither investment nor exports can offset any weakening in consumer demand." The coincident index, which gauges current economic trends, rose 0.2 percent last month after being up 0.1 percent in March. The lagging index, a measure of past trends in the economy, had decreases of 0.4 percent in April and 0.9 percent in March. Last month the Commerce Department said U.S. GDP grew 5.8 percent in the first quarter. The department will issue its next report on May 24. The department also last week reported a 5.4 percent decline in U.S. April housing starts. Five of the 10 components that make up the leading indicators index fell in April, led by money supply and stock prices. Three components -- vendor performance, building permits and nondefense capital goods orders -- rose in April. But consumer goods orders and the average workweek were flat. biz.yahoo.com